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Vol. 38-No. 4 ISSN 0892-1571 March/April 2012 - Adar/Nissan 5772 MAKING SENSE OF TROUBLESOME TIMES ASYV FOURTEENTH ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE ON HOLOCAUST EDUCATION he Education Department of the face on Holocaust victims in order to intro- “What makes today very special for me is standing up to lies and preserving the truth T American Society for Yad Vashem duce a human element to the story. Trans- that my oldest child, Rebecca, who bears is imperative. I want her to know that over and their Young Leadership Associates mitting these messages is our hope for the my grandmother’s name, is here with me. It the years, we have had the privilege of held its fourteenth professional develop- future. We are grateful to you, the teachers, is the first time she has come to a Yad touching, meeting, and educating thou- ment conference on Holocaust education. whose responsibility it is to educate future Vashem event. It is her first time beginning sands of teachers. And, through your ded- The Association of Teachers of Social generations about the Holocaust, when to learn about what her great-grandparents ication and work, tens of thousands of Studies /United Federation of Teachers there will be no more survivors left to tell the and their parents, cousins, uncles, aunts, students across the New York City metro- and the School of Education of Manhat- story.” Commenting on the 30th anniversary sisters, and brothers lived through. It is time politan area have been touched and have tanville College co-sponsored the program of the American Society, Mr. Zborowski for her to begin to learn about the strength learned about the Holocaust. this year. Participants in this year’s pro- “And why does it matter? Because as gram, which included educators from all the years pass, people become more au- five boroughs of New York City and from dacious in their claims that the Holocaust the tri-state area, received In-Service cred- never happened. The lies abound not just its for completing the conference. The pro- in Iran, where the officials say that the gram also included a panel display of the Holocaust never happened, but right here Legend of the Lodz Ghetto Curriculum in our great country …Most of all, I want to created and developed by the International thank each one of you for being here. Your School for Holocaust Studies of Yad efforts and commitment are the building Vashem, Jerusalem. blocks that will protect all of us from ever Commissioner Salvatore Cassano of the seeing horrors like the Holocaust again.“ FDNY and Dr. Samuel Klagsbrun, Execu- ommissioner Cassano spoke about tive Medical Director of Four Winds Hospital, Cthe importance of commemorating were the keynote speakers. Carolyn Herbst, and learning about the events of 9/11 and the significance of education in preventing Past President/Past Chairperson of the such horrific events from repeating them- ATSS/UFT talked about how this confer- selves. He reminded us of the similarities ence is a valuable resource for increasing in teaching about the Holocaust and the awareness and sensitivity to intolerance and events of 9/11 because of the similar injustice. In her remarks to the conference themes that should be considered: under- participants, she emphasized the impor- standing human behavior, the dangers of tance of learning from the lessons of the Caroline Massel, Co-Chair, Young Leadership Associates; Rebecca Massel; Eli Zborowski, Chair- extreme and baseless hatred, creating re- Holocaust and applying these lessons to man of the American Society for Yad Vashem; Dr. Marlene W. Yahalom, Director of Education; Tali membrance and public memory, commem- teaching about human rights issues and Yahalom, Young Leadership Associates; Commissioner Salvatore Cassano, FDNY, keynote speaker. orating the event, remembering and making these messages meaningful to our honoring the memory of the heroes and students. added that continuing the efforts and ac- of her people and her family. It is time for complishments of the American Society in her to begin to learn about the unbelievable the victims, and ensuring they are not for- This year’s theme, “Making Sense of Trou- gotten. Commissioner Cassano also talked education and remembrance is critical to acts of kindness performed by countless blesome Times: Challenges and Solutions – about the challenges the FDNY continues keep the memory of the Holocaust alive. He Righteous Gentiles. A Retrospective – The Holocaust, 9/11 and to face in a post-9/11 era, how the events applauded the success of its Education De- “For my family, today we begin the process More,” presented educators with strategies of 9/11 impacted the FDNY, and how these on how to incorporate Holocaust studies into partment and Young Leadership Associates of transmitting the stories of what my family lived through to the next generation. challenges are met. He also took ques- their lesson plans and curricula, making in this venture. tions from the audience. these themes and topics relevant when aroline Massel, Co-Chair of the “While my daughter will begin to learn about what happened to her family, today, Our first Conference was held in 1999. teaching about the events of 9/11. The work- CYoung Leadership Associates, wel- With each yearly Conference, we have shop themes complemented the keynote comed the participants and spoke about the I am hopeful that she will learn another les- son. Not everyone who learns about or moved towards our collective goal to em- speakers’ remarks: “Strategies in Teaching deep commitment she has, as a grandchild teaches the Holocaust and its lessons has power educators with an educationally en- about the Events of 9/11”; “Using Survivor of Holocaust survivors, to the cause of Holo- a direct familial connection to the Holo- riching experience so that they are better Testimonies in the Classroom”; “Art of Chil- caust remembrance. She commended the caust. What I hope she begins to learn equipped to transmit the lessons of the dren from the Holocaust – Studying an Arti- attendees for their shared dedication to today is that there are people, like many of Holocaust to their students. In 2002, when fact”; and “Propaganda, Character Holocaust remembrance through education you here, who have no connection to the we offered educators the opportunity to Development and Anti-bullying Behavior: Its by their presence at the program – dedicat- Holocaust but are staunchly committed to participate in our first post-9/11 profes- Impact on Our Youth.” ing a day off to join colleagues to learn more the truth and to teaching the next genera- sional development program, Dr. Samuel Eli Zborowski, Chairman of the American about strategies to teach about the Holo- tion what happened over 70 years ago. Klagsbrun was our keynote speaker. Using Society for Yad vashem, said, “We put a caust in the classroom. There are people who understand that (Continued on page 13) IN THIS ISSUE Holocaust database unites lost cousins.........................................................................3 Nitzotz: The spark of resistance.......................................................................................4 Don’t rehabilitate the guilty.............................................................................................5 A Polish woman’s heroic journey of self-discovery.......................................................6 Poland's halt of restitution plans angers many............................................................7 Highlights from the YLA of The American Society for Yad Vashem gala..............8-9 Exhibit reveals Holocaust-era portraits.........................................................................10 Letter of Hitler’s first anti-Semitic writing.....................................................................11 World’s oldest Holocaust museum gets new life........................................................13 Righteous Gentile recalls saving hundreds of children.............................................15 Holocaust family weeps as last portraits of victims go on show in Israel...............16 Page 2 MARTYRDOM & RESISTANCE March/April 2012 - Adar/Nissan 5772 RESEARCHERS MAKE NEW DISCOVERY OF JEWS TURKEY “OWES” APOLOGY MURDERED BY POLISH VILLAGERS DURING HOLOCAUST FOR DEATHS OF HOLOCAUST ESCAPEES ne discovery has shown that twenty press. “When the Jews were sent out to nkara must show the courage to every morning while it was anchored at the OJewish women were murdered in a work, farmers ordered their weapons – A apologize for its role in the Struma Istanbul shore. small village after being “loaned” to Polish clubs with iron heads – from the local tragedy in which 764 people died in the “I realized that they were sent to death landowners by a nearby ghetto for agricul- blacksmith. Those clubs were used to Black Sea after being neglected by Turkey when a morning came and we did not find tural labor. According to the Polish Institute beat the women all over their bodies until while escaping from the Holocaust, a lead- the boat where it had been. Only the Jew- of National Remembrance and Polish at- the last beating: a deadly blow to the ing Jewish-Turkish businessman has said. ish community helped out those people torneys, the murders took place in 1941 in head.” “Just like German Chancellor Angela who were living in that old boat with dis- Bzury, a town in northeast Poland. “Mass graves were dug in the forest, Merkel apologized for Turks who were eases and hunger,” said Alaton. There is no certainty around whether the into which the corpses were thrown. murdered by neo-Nazis, Ankara must have The Struma disaster happened following murderers are alive today, or whether it will Some of the victims were raped before the same courage,” an official declaration be possible to locate and convict them. being killed,” he continued. İshak Alaton said. by the British authori- Public Attorney Radoslaw Igniatew, one of Igniatew said he could not explain the Alaton was accompa- ties that no Jews the leading researchers of the infamous motivations for the murders, but that it nied by Turkish musi- would be accepted to Jedwabne pogrom, believes there is a fair was clear those men would not dare carry cian and author Zülfü Palestine.