February Layout 1

Vol. 37-No.3 ISSN 0892-1571 January/February 2011-Shevat/Adar 5771 INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY anuary 27 marks the anniversary of “They joined the resistance, rescued A handful of elderly camp survivors and Holocaust but failed to act, and urged them Jthe liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, those in peril, smuggled food into ghettos young Germans and Poles also gathered not to make the same mistake today. the largest Nazi death camp. In 2005, the and made wrenching sacrifices to keep in Oswiecim, southern Poland, for cere- “They knew and did not act,” Netanyahu United Nations General Assembly desig- their children alive. Their courage contin- monies marking 66 years since the libera- said. nated this day as International Holocaust ues to inspire. On this Holocaust Remem- tion of the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex “Today they know, they hear, they see, Remembrance Day, an annual day of com- brance Day, let us honor these women and where German Nazis killed more than a they film,” Netanyahu said of Iran’s threats. memoration to honor the victims of the their legacy. Let us pledge to create a million people during World War II. “Will they act, will they speak, really speak, Nazi era. world where such atrocities can never be “Since World War II, across the globe attack or condemn?” repeated. there has not been a single day without “We are all aware that such a future has war. We continue to witness massacres yet to arrive. Everywhere in our world, and genocide on an ethnic, racial, religious women and girls continue to endure vio- or linguistic basis,” German President lence, abuse and discrimination. The Christian Wulff said. United Nations is fully committed to pro- “This is an appeal to youth to take re- moting and protecting their fundamental sponsibility for what is happening. Indiffer- human rights. By empowering women we ence is the worst threat to democracy and empower all of society. liberty.” “Families should never again have to en- “Here we must ask how to protect the dure the kind of evil seen during the Holo- world against crimes, hate and contempt caust. Only by working together can we for human rights. We owe it to those who Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. prevent genocide and end impunity. By perished in Auschwitz, but also to those “I expect the world will learn the lesson educating new generations about this ter- who were killed not long ago in the and act with words and deeds against the rible episode of our history, we can help to Balkans and elsewhere,” Polish President new anti-Semitism,” Netanyahu said. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. uphold human dignity for all.” Bronislaw Komorowski said. n Washington US President Barack This year, due to the weather conditions n Poland the German and Polish pres- The two leaders also laid flowers at the IObama joined a list of other world lead- in New York, the observance of Interna- Iidents on January 27 urged global vig- foot of the notorious wall of death in ers in marking Holocaust Remembrance tional Holocaust Remembrance Day at the ilance to prevent crimes against humanity Auschwitz where the Nazis shot thousands Day. UN headquarters was cancelled and dead. “I join people here at home, in Israel, and rescheduled for a later date. But UN Sec- Survivor David Levin, 85, who now lives around the world in commemorating Inter- retary-General Ban Ki-moon delivered his in Germany, was 16 when he was de- national Holocaust Remembrance Day, as message that reflects on this event. ported to Auschwitz. we mark one of the darkest, most destruc- “Each year, the international community “People don’t know much about tive periods in human history,” he said. unites in memory of the Holocaust and re- Auschwitz. Reading books doesn’t teach “To remember is a choice, and today we flects on the lessons that we all must them as much as meeting witnesses who remember the innocent victims of the Nazis’ heed. It is a vitally important annual obser- survived hell. I hope this knowledge stays murderous hate – six million Jews and mil- vance,” said Ban Ki-moon. in their memory forever.” lions of other people. We are reminded to “On the anniversary of the liberation of Tomasz Kobylanski, a 21-year-old stu- remain ever-vigilant against the possibility of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest and most dent from the Jagiellonian University in the genocide, and to ensure that ‘Never Again’ notorious of the Nazi death camps, we re- nearby southern Polish city of Krakow, is not just a phrase but a principled cause. member the millions of Jews, as well as said meeting survivors was all the more And we resolve to stand up against preju- the prisoners of war, political dissidents, compelling due to the fact that there are dice, stereotyping, and violence – including and members of minority groups, such as only a few left. the scourge of anti-Semitism – around the the Roma and Sinti, homosexuals and dis- “It’s very important to be able to meet wit- globe,” Obama added. abled people, who were systematically nesses of history, all the more so that this In Brussels the Israeli Ministry of Public murdered by the Nazis and their sympa- is perhaps the last opportunity to speak Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, in coop- thizers. with them.” eration with the presidency of the Euro- “This year, we pay special tribute to the Trustees at the Auschwitz museum also pean Parliament, the European Jewish women who suffered in the Holocaust. marked the liberation anniversary Thurs- Congress, and the Holocaust Memorial of Mothers and daughters, grandmothers, Poland's President Bronislaw Komorowski (R) day by launching a Facebook drive to help Yad Vashem, held an event to mark Inter- sisters and aunts, they saw their lives ir- and his German counterpart Christian Wulff raise 120 million euros to preserve the site national Day of Commemoration in Mem- revocably changed, their families sepa- (2nd R) pass the main gate of the former of the camp for posterity. ory of the Victims of the Holocaust. rated and their traditions shattered. Yet, Auschwitz death camp, in Oswiecim on January This event, the first of its kind, took place despite appalling acts of discrimination, 27, 2011. n Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Ne- Itanyahu, speaking to parliament ahead at the European Parliament. deprivation and cruelty, they consistently as they marked International Holocaust Israeli Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Af- found ways to fight back against their per- Remembrance Day at the former of International Holocaust Remembrance fairs Minister Yuli Edelstein, European Par- secutors. Auschwitz death camp. Day, called on the world to learn the lessons of the Holocaust and act against the liament President Jerzy Buzek, European Jewish state’s arch-foe Iran. Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor, He accused the “regime of the ayatol- and Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate IN THIS ISSUE lahs” of inciting a new “genocide” against Elie Wiesel were among the participants. International Holocaust Remembrance Day.............................................................1, 3 the Jewish people. As part of the program, memorial can- In the Shadow of the Red Banner.....................................................................................4 Israel regards Iran as its principal threat, dles were lit by Jewish Holocaust survivors The Holocaust in Lithuania: One man’s crusade to bring justice..............................5 after repeated predictions by its hardline from Europe and Israel. The past is present.........................................................................................................6 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the The main feature of the event was a How one Polish woman uncovered her town’s shocking role in the Holocaust...........7 Jewish state’s demise. unique concert by the Ra’anana Sym- Nazis were given “safe haven” in U.S., report says....................................................8 The Iranian leader has also frequently phonette Orchestra in order to present its Art’s survivors of Hitler’s war.........................................................................................9 and publicly denied the Holocaust, calling special Holocaust memorial program, ti- Holocaust orphans reminisce about the Birnbaum family.........................................10 it a “myth.” tled “Alma Rosé – from Vienna to History saved from the trash.........................................................................................11 Netanyahu said world leaders were Auschwitz.” Schindler’s list: The story behind the documents.....................................................11 aware of the mass murder of the Jews The musical program tells the story of Scholars reconsidering Italy’s treatment of Jews in the Nazi era..............................15 being carried out by the Nazis during the (Continued on page 3) Page 2 MARTYRDOM & RESISTANCE January/February 2011 - Shevat/Adar 5771 NUREMBERG LAWS HANDED OVER FRENCH HOLOCAUST ROLE RECOGNIZED TO US NATIONAL ARCHIVES rance’s highest court has recog- She is also asking for material and he Nuremberg Laws, which laid the ships with non-Jews, and stopped them F nized the state’s “responsibility” for moral damages for her own personal suf- Tlegal groundwork for the execution of flying the German flag. the deportation of Jews in World War II. fering during and after the German occu- six million Jews during the Holocaust, have Under the laws people were classified as The Council of State said the state had pation. been handed over to the US National

Load more