ZviBernhardt YadVashem and Holocaust Victim’sSearch forFamily

Abstract: Immediately after liberation, started their search for family members who had survivedand to learn the fate of familymembers who had not.This chapter explores the changingrole of YadVashem over time and explains why YadVashem did not playamajor role in this endeavor up to the 1980s and how it became amajor center for these searches in subse- quent years. It also tries to explain some of the changes in the societal role of searchingfor ’ fate within the framework of Israeli society.

Introduction

The attemptsbyHolocaust survivors and their descendants to discover informa- tion on the fate of individuals can be divided into four periods. The first period starts with the liberation of the victims and ends around the early1950s with the closure of the DP campsand with most of the victims settling in various coun- tries of immigration. This period includes frantic searchingfor family members or friends who survived. The second period starts in the 1950s and ends in the early1970s. While hope stillexists in manyhearts to find loved ones who sur- vived, the search for the fate of individuals takesonmore of asymbolic aspect and seems to be more about making aplace in the livesofsurvivors leave this for those missing.Onamore practical level manynow search for information about themselvesinorder to receive reparations rather than searchingfor those who are missing.The third period, from the 1970still the mid 1980s showed alull in the interest in the fateofHolocaust victims and names. The fourth period, arekindled interestinnames and fates,which started around 1984 and contin- ues to this day. In this fourth period YadVashem came to occupy acentral place for thosesearchingfor the fate of aHolocaust victim. Even though YadVashem was established first in the mid-1940s and had started collectingarchivalmate- rial including information on names and fates of individuals, YadVashem was not amajor playerinthe search for names and fates in the first three periods. Even the re-establishment of YadVashem as asemi-governmental institution in 1953byanact of the Israeli parliamentdid not resultinYadVashem playing acentral part in the search for names, nor did its receipt of acopy of most of the ITS collection relatingtoJews at the end of that decade.

OpenAccess. ©2020 ZviBernhardt, published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110665376-010 174 ZviBernhardt

This chapter attemptstoidentify some of the reasons why YadVashem did not playalarge role in this endeavorupuntil the 1980s, and whythis changed in that decade.

The First Period: After Liberation

In almost anyHolocaust period testimonyyou can find adescription of the search for relativesimmediatelyupon liberation. Three examples are offered here: Paul Landauwas born in Warszawa, Poland in 1922 and his familymoved to Paris in 1926.During the war he was in various forced labor camps – some of the time disguisedasanethnic Pole. He wasthen in Auschwitz and other camps. He was liberated in Ebensee, from wherehetravelled to Paris. In his testimonyhe states: “When we arrivedinParis […]railroad station there were thousands of people there […]Iwas still with my stripes[…]Did youmeet Duron, John?Did yousee so and so?The people weretherehoping to have news from somebody”¹ Stanley Firestone was borninLodz in 1928 and was deported to Auschwitz in August,1944.Hewas liberatedinMay,1945around Mauthausen and was then sent to the SantaCroceHospital in Italy:

Istarted hearingrumors that my mother survived[…]soIescapedfromthe hospital [in Italy] and made my waynorth […]Ihad no money […]havinggotten to Feldafing[…]I met people that said they sawmymother in Lodz […]InGermanyIjoined agroupofPolish repatriates and made my wayback to Poland […]InLodz […]Iwent to the Jewish commu- nity centerand asked[…]they told me […]mymother and acousin of mine livedinasmall apartment […]mymother opened the door and started runningtoward me […]weboth burst out crying.²

Eda Reed was born in Humniska, Poland in 1920.She was eventuallydeportedto acamp in Sambor from where she escaped. She acquired false papers as an “Aryan” first in Lublin, then in Regen in Germanywhereshe worked for aGer- man farmer.After liberation she made her waytoAugsburgand describes plans she made with two friends: “So we said first we will go to Krakow,tosee Rozia Mintz’sfamily […]And she didn’tfind anybody[…]Iwent back to Humniska […] In every place Iwentthey said: “Well, we didn’thear anybodysurvived”³

 TestimonyofPaulLandau, O.3/7015/ Vashem Archives, .  TestimonyofStanley Firestone, O.3/7280/Yad Vashem Archives, Jerusalem.  TestimonyofEda Reed, O.3/10468/Yad Vashem Archives, Jerusalem. YadVashem and Holocaust Victim’sSearch forFamily 175

From averyearly stage, the Jewish Agency played amajor role in helpingsur- vivors search forrelatives.Representatives of the Jewish Agency as theofficial rep- resentativebodyofthe nascentJewishNationalHomeinPalestine hadexisted around Europe before thewar andwerequickly re-establishedwithliberation. Theseoffices frequently registered andpublicizedlists of survivors.The Bureau forMissing Relatives,the official centralclearing housefor allsuchendeavors, wasfounded by theagencyinJune1945. Books with listsofsurvivors were pub- lished underthe auspices of the Jewish Agency,and it published LekarovVelera- hok⁴, anewspaperconsistingofvarious listsofnames of survivorsand emigrants to Palestine – most of them also survivors. Allthese publications sold extensively in Palestine andaroundthe Jewishworld.AsTehilaDarmonshows in herthesis on this bureau⁵,the Jewish Agency sawthe founding of this bureau as oneway to encourage thesurvivors to seetheir finaldestination as Palestineatatime when Britishregulations limitedthe abilityofthe agency to actually bringthe survivors to . This wasseenasparticularlyimportant as other non-ZionistJewishor- ganizations, forinstance the American Jewish JointDistributionCommittee and HICEMwerealsoactiveintryingtoassistsurvivors in theirsearchfor relatives. The Bureau cooperated with theseorganizationsbut also sawthemascompetitors forthe hearts of thesurvivors.Thuseventhough YadVashem sawits goal as the collection of nameswhenitwas firstorganized – in 1946 – the Jewish Agency was alreadyactiveinhelpingpeople search forinformation aboutrelatives.

The Second Period: 1950s to 1970s

One of the symbols of the second period, that of continued search but with less hope, is the daily radiobroadcast in Israel Hamador Lehipus Krovim.⁶ Thiswas

 Publishedfrom5.7.1945–17.11.47,altogether 93 issues werepublished. Afull copyofthis pub- lication exists in the YadVashem library.The title is both aplayonwords: Lekarov Ulerahok means both “from near and far” but the word for near is also the wordfor relative and abiblical quotefromIsaiah 57 v. 19 “peace, peace to the far and to the near,(Shalom Shalom La’rahok Vela’Karov) says the Lord,and Iwill heal him.” This verse is part of the reading from the proph- ets for YomKippur,the DayofAtonement.  Tehila Malka(Darmon): TheSearch for Surviving Relatives after . TheEstablish- ment of the Search Bureau ForMissing Relatives in Israel in the 1950s–1960s,Ben Gurion Univer- sity of the Negev,2010,4.(unpublished M.A. Thesis.[Hebrew]).  Icould notfindasource forwhen theprogramstarted.Itwas well establishedbythe mid-1950s. There were definitely predecessorprogramsbroadcastinglists of namesstartinginthe 1940s. Zion- ist Archives, “Hamador LehipusKarovim”,Available at: http://www.zionistarchives.org.il/AttheC ZA/AdditionalArticles/Pages/ChipushKrovim.aspx.Last accessed: 9. 7. 2019. 176 ZviBernhardt sponsored by the abovementioned Bureau established by the JewishAgency,and in fact the name of the program was simplythe Hebrew name of the Bureau. Memoirs from the time and literary references – for example in Chava Alber- stein’ssong Shaaraliya⁷ – portraythis broadcast as asacrosanct moment in the daywheresurvivorparents listened intentlytowhat was essentiallyan audio list of names. It seems though that the main impetus for listeningtothe program was not areal hope to find connections that had been lost but rather adailyrecognition of the existenceofloss in their lives. Parallel to this symbolic and commemorative interest in names and fates was the search for proof of an individual’swartime experience in order to receive compensation, which began after the signingofthe Reparations agreement in 1952. Around this time the Israeli Foreign Ministry was involved in the negotia- tions for putting the International Tracing Service on anew legal footageand full Israeli participation in its institutions. memberCizling raised an of- ficial parliamentary question to the Foreign Minister in November 1953 regarding the fear thatthe ITS documents would be transferred to the Germans.⁸ The Israeli delegation supported the proposal to have the International Red Cross manage the ITS. The main impetus for this proposal was to ensurethat the ITS not be managed by aGerman governmental agency.The negotiations included attempts to receive acopy of the ITSmaterial to be used by Israel and by Jewish organi- zations. Ameeting on receiving acopy of the ITS material was held in the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 1954 and included representatives of the WorldJewishCon- gress. Absent from the meeting – and in fact the whole file – is anymention of YadVashem.⁹ While YadVashem was not the initiator of the demand for acopyofthe ITS material relatingtoJews, and even though the crew headed by Joseph-Kurt Sella that actuallymicrofilmed the materialsbetween 1955 to 1957 wasanIsraeli For- eign Ministry crew, YadVashem was heavilyinvolvedtechnicallyand financially.

 Forthe text of this song in theoriginalHebrew: Shironet, Shaaraliya. Available at: https://shir onet.mako.co.il/artist?type=lyrics&lang=1&prfid=383&wrkid=3137.Lastaccessed: 20.11. 2018.  Knesset protocol (Divrei Haknesset) 23.11.1953, 208–210. Available at: https://fs.knesset.gov. il//2/Plenum/2_ptm_250554.pdf. Last accessed: 20.11.2018.  Israel National Archives, file ISA-mfa-IsraeliMissionUK-000qv1s. Available at:http://www. archives.gov.il/archives/#/Archive/0b07170680319a2e/File/0b07170680cc9bf7.Lastaccessed: 20.11.2018. YadVashem and Holocaust Victim’sSearch forFamily 177

By 1960 the 5,467microfilms of this project wereavailable in the YadVashem ar- chive.¹⁰ By the mid 1950s YadVashem had become aquasi-governmental organiza- tion, recognized by lawasthe official state organfor Holocaust remembrance. However,other Holocaust memorial institutions existed. These institutions rep- resented various ideological strains in Israeli society,manyofwhom represented partiesand groups that had existed in European Jewry of the Holocaust period. Each institution aimed to put forward their ownagenda on memory as the cen- tral prism through which Israeli society would view the Holocaust period. Two central examples were Beit Lohamei Hagetaot,the memorial institution at the aptlynamed Fighter’skibbutz in the north, foundedamong others by Tzi- via Lubotkin and otherveterans of the Zionist socialistfighters in the Warsaw ghettouprising,and the on near the tradi- tional siteofthe tomb of King David,founded by Rabbi Dr.Shmuel Zanviel Ca- hana, aleader of the Mizrahi Zionist-orthodox Party. Both these institutions were foundedin1949 right after the WarofIndependence, before YadVashem was givencentrality by law, and in fact at atime that YadVashem as an institution was more or less moribund. It would be manyyears before YadVashem’spre- eminence became clear.¹¹ Interestingly in the 1960s YadVashem did attempt to assist individuals in the documentation of their own Holocaust travails and in theirresearch on the fate of their relatives, often using the ITS collection, which wascopied in the 1950s. This however was not seen as acentral YadVashem role and its then publication, the YadVashem bulletin mentions this type of activity onlyonce parenthetically in 1964.¹² However,inthe 1970sfor reasons Icould not ascertain YadVashem

 Kurt-Sela, Dr.Josef: “The ‘ITS’ Microfilm Project of YadVashem – Guide and Keytothe Proj- ect.Compiled by Dr.Josef Kurt-Sela former Laison Officer of the Israeli Governmenttothe ITS”, Jerusalem, March 1950,3.  Manydocuments attest to acontinued struggle of YadVashem to be recognized as the central Israeli organ for Holocaust remembrance. In aletterfromFebruary 28,1968 the Prime Minister’s officenotifies YadVashem that the Prime Minister will not participateinthe Holocaust Memorial Dayceremony in YadVashem as he will be attendingthe ceremony in Lohamei Hagetaot,see: AM 2.2318.1/40/Yad Vashem Archives, Jerusalem. In one documentfrom1975the YadVashem directorate discusses movingthe main ceremonyatYadVashem from the end of Holocaust me- morial daytothe beginningsoitdoes not competewith other ceremonies,including at Beit Lo- hamei Hagetaot, see: AM 2.2, 318.3/37/Yad Vashem Archives, Jerusalem.  YadVashem Bulletin March, 1964,inthe article “Recent Activities of the YadVashem Ar- chives”,67; “[…]these lists maybeofgreat help in the search for missingrelatives, and in claims for payment of damages.” Comparethis short sentence – part of adescription of archivalacquis- itions – with the frequent publicationofsuccessful YadVashem relativessearchinYadVashem’s 178 ZviBernhardt changed its policy and would not provide service for the ITS collection and sent inquirers to the ITS in Arolsenand the JewishAgency bureau.¹³ Hereitisimportant to note that the collection of the PagesofTestimony – begun in the mid-1950s – was not seen as away to gather information, but was seen strictlyascommemoration. One of the sections in the YadVashem laws is the direction “4: to confer upon the members of the Jewish people who perished[…]the commemorative citizenship of the State of Israel”.¹⁴ As can be seen in this early Page of Testimony – some of the first pages were gathered in South America – the aim of the document is presented as abasisfor bestow- ing that citizenship.¹⁵ Close to amillion nameshad been collected in Pages of Testimony by 1960 – but they werenot indexeduntil 1968. On May31, 1968, Mr.Kalish from the de- partmentofPagesofTestimony noted thatasaresult of the establishment of the Hall of Names building, interest in looking for informationfrom the PagesofTes- timony wasgrowingand letters werebeing received – he mentions 100 not yet answered – to look for Pages of Testimony,but thatthe staff wasnot able to an- swer them because the pages had not yetbeen completelyarranged.¹⁶

current publication: “YadVashem Jerusalem”,inExamples,82, 2017,20; Ibid.: Examples,83, 2017,20; Examples,84, 2017,17; Examples,85, 2018, 18. All available at: https://www.yadva shem.org/magazine.html. Last accessed: 20.8.2018.  One of manyexamples:AM.4/392/Yad Vashem Archives, Jerusalem: “We can not help youin your search after your brother.Weare not arelativessearch institute. […]Isuggest that youcon- tact the relativessearchinstituteofthe Sochnut,Bezalel str.18, Jerusalem – maybeyour brother arrivedtoIsrael after W.W.II. Youcan also try to contact the International TracingService, Wal- deck/Arolsen W. Germanywhich is the most competent authority for individual documentation.”  Martyrs’ and HeroesRemembrance(YadVashem)Law 5713,2.4.1954.Available at: https:// www.yadvashem.org/about/yad-vashem-law.html Last accessed: 20.8.2019  Noteonthe bottom it says in Spanish: “Porello, pido otorgar ciudadania post-mortem del Estado de Israel, al nombre arriba mencionado.” In English: “ThereforeIask for post-mortem citizenship of the stateofIsrael to the person whoiswritten above.”  AM.4/391/Yad Vashem Archives, Jerusalem: “Letters arebeingworked on (indexing) and will be finishedbythe end of July.[…]Sincethe openingofthe Hall of Names (memorial building) we feel […]arenewed interest in […]Pages of Testimony[…]both in requests for empty forms and queries about names recorded in the past […]wehavenot yetreceivedthe boxeswhich makes answeringqueries impossible […]the material is in tied parcels […]the number of unan- sweredqueries now exceeds100.” YadVashem and Holocaust Victim’sSearch forFamily 179

Fig. 1: Page of Testimony given to YadVashemtocommemorateSaul Anderman, signed in Montevideo, Uruguay, 1.10.1954 (Yad Vashem Pages of Testimony collection) 180 ZviBernhardt

The ThirdPeriod: 1970s to 1980s

By the 1970swereach the third stage, whereby the search for names of Holocaust victims starts losing importance. The symbol of the second period – the radio broadcast of the Bureau for the Search for Relatives – is initiallymoved from a prime broadcast time and then stopped completely.¹⁷ Survivors are seen to have gotonwith theirlives, and internalized the fact thatfor the most part those they have not found are lost.Commemoration had alsobeen institutional- ized. Rather thanadailyreminder of the loss, commemoration would takeplace on Holocaust Memorialday or at designated memorial sites,one of these being YadVashem.

The Fourth Period:1980s to today

The renewedinterest in searchingfor names and fates begins in the 1980s – a symbolofthis being the first international Jewish genealogyconferences in Jer- usalem in 1984.There are many reasons for this change, one being demographic, as by the 1980s many of the survivors had finished rearingtheir children and werestarting to retireand had more time to devote to interest in the past.For manydifferent reasons interest in the Holocaust was rising in the west. Later on, during the 1990s and early2000s aseries of events – among them the reunification of , the fall of the Soviet bloc, the agreements reached over dormant accounts in Switzerlandand dormant insurance accounts – openednew programs for compensation to new groups of people, manyof whom turned to YadVashem and other organizations to find documentation to establish their claims. Although reports of the Hall of Names and the Archive show numerous and growingsearches for individuals answered alreadyinthe 1980s, YadVashem also had to go through aconceptual transformation.¹⁸ Astandard handout that was still givenout regularlyinthe Hall of Names in the early1990s informed visitors that YadVashem wasnot aplace for genealogical research.¹⁹

 Malka: TheSearch for Surviving Relatives,68, 95.  Forexample: Hall of Names reportofactivities for April 1989–March 1990 AM.9/2/ 32/YadVa- shem Archives, Jerusalem.  Ibid., 143. “THE HALLOFNAMES IS NOTTHE PLACE FOR FAMILY RESEARCH OR FOR LO- CATING SURVIVORS OF THE HOLOCAUST” (Capitals in original). YadVashem and Holocaust Victim’sSearch forFamily 181

It took some time for YadVashem to realize that the genealogical search for names was mostlysurvivors and their descendants still looking for connections over the breach of generations thatthe Holocaust caused. It should also be noted that although genealogists symbolize the changeatYadVashem and at times fa- cilitated it,most of thosewho benefittedfrom achangeinYadVashem attitude geared more towardservice to individuals would not have defined themselvesas genealogists. Technologywas another factor.By2000 YadVashem had an extensive – and ever expanding – database of names and fates, which went online in 2004.Many questions thatinthe past would have taken much research time werenow an- swered instantly. Of course, the initial major scanning and data-entry program for the YadVashem names collection was fundedbythe aforementioned commit- tee on the dormant Swiss accounts in 1999 – showing the interconnection of so manyofthe factors in this story. Another factor was also important,namelythat in the 1950s the search for individuals frequentlyincluded asearch for living individuals,atask that Yad Vashem was never – and is not today – able to accommodate in most cases. By the 1980s the search for information was concentrated more on the Holocaust period travails and less on the finding of people stillalive,atask which the Yad Vashem resources weremore capable of. Hereitshould be noted that the Jewish Agency Search Bureau for Missing Relatives was officiallyclosed in 1999,and its archiveswas transferred to the CentralZionist Archives.²⁰ Numerous organizations still function in Israel covering every aspect of Hol- ocaust commemoration, research and education. However,bythe 1990s YadVa- shem had established its centrality.Acommittee was founded to establish the list of officiallysanctioned memorial ceremonies recognized by the Israeli govern- ment.Onlytwo of the members of the committee werenot direct government em- ployees, one of them arepresentative of YadVashem.²¹ So YadVashem was now not onlycentral to the commemoration of the Holocaust in Israel – it was also considered an institution with asay in what issues and events the government of Israelwould officiallycommemorate. Of the 30 annual ceremoniesapproved, two takeplace at YadVashem and require the participationofthe Prime Minister and the President. ²²

 Central Zionist Archives website:http://www.zionistarchives.org.il/familyresearch/Genealo gyDatabases/Pages/RelativeSearch.aspx. Last accessed: 28.1.2019.  Decision of the committee of ministers for symbols and ceremonies,5.1.2005.Available at: https://www.gov.il/he/Departments/policies/2005_des3117. Last accessed: 28.1.2019.  Ibid. decision 139,16.11.2008. Available at: https://www.gov.il/he/departments/policies/ 2008_des4292. Last accessed: 28.1.2019. 182 ZviBernhardt

To conclude, thereweremanyreasons why YadVashem was not acentral sourcefor information on the fate of individuals in the first decades after the Holocaust,and whythat started changinginthe 1980s. One is the infrastructure – YadVashem did not have the archivalmaterials, the organizational abilities or the human resources to give such servicesinthe first critical decades after the Second World War. It is also likelythatatthe time the search for relativeswas ahighprestige activity that playedamajor role in Israeli society,while at the time YadVashem was an organization with little prestige.The JewishAgency had both the infrastructure and the prestige to playamajor role in searching for relatives. Later,asthe search for relativesbecame an issue with less prestige, the JewishAgency would reduce its role, while amore central YadVashem in Is- rael would expand its role. YadVashem opened its doors to new groups interest- ed in people’sfate onlytofind that in fact they werethe continuation of groups they had served before. YadVashem’srepositories – among them the Pages of Testimony and archivalcollections,includingthe copy of the ITS collection – be- came major resourcesfor name searches,and along with YadVashem ’sadapta- tion of new technologies would make it the major playerinthis areainIsrael – and manywould sayinthe largerJewish world.