2012 Alfred Lerner Fellows

Here at the JFR we are settling in after another successful Summer Institute for Teachers. This year’s institute included 28 teachers from throughout the United States and from Poland and Croatia who joined us at Columbia University for 5 days of intensive scholarship. The caliber of the teachers’ enthusiasm, dedication, and devotion to Holocaust education was truly inspiring.  Additionally, the lectures given by each of our 10 visiting scholars were thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating.  One of the wonderful aspects of this program is the opportunity for teachers to network with one another, learn from each other, and share useful teaching tools and resources. If this year’s cohort of Alfred Lerner Fellows is any indication, the future of Holocaust education in America looks very bright

 

The JFR is pleased to announce the arrival of some new additions to the office. Ben Kamelhar will be the new education intern for the summer, and Kim Nates will be joining the JFR as a volunteer in the development department. After spending a gap year in Israel, Ben will enter NYU this fall. Originally hailing from South Africa, Kim graduated from Brown University this May. Welcome to the JFR Ben and Kim!

The grave of Stanley Goldblum

On May 28 1944, PFC Stanley Goldblum was killed in action in the battle of Rome. Stanley Goldblum was my uncle and I am named for him. My Uncle Stanley was in the 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. He is buried at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery which is on the north edge of the town of Nettuno, Italy, which is immediately east of the Anzio beachhead. The Italian campaign was brutal and we lost many young men. Rome was liberated on June 4, 1944, seven days after my uncle Stanley was killed. May his memory be forever a blessing.

As we take time today to remember those men and women who have made the supreme sacrifice on behalf of our country, let us also remember the men and woman who protect our freedom today. May this Memorial Day find the members of our armed forces both here at home and around the world safe.

Go to the following link for more information about the Sicily- Rome American Cemetary: http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/sr.php

It’s been three years since we have made any major changes to our website. Since we are currently changing web hosts, we decided to take the opportunity to make several of our web pages more user friendly. These changes will allow our site to be available and accessible to users on all platforms, especially those using smartphones. Additionally, we will soon be able to offer our donors access to their giving history. More information on that will follow shortly. This summer, be sure to log onto www.jfr.org to read new rescue stories, to check out our updates, and to see our redesigned pages.

 

 

 

 

Giving a presentation on rescue during the Holocaust

This Thursday, May 17th, I will be in Atlanta, Georgia, to speak about rescue during the Holocaust. This speaking engagement coincides with the loan of the JFR’s traveling exhibit, Whoever Saves a Single Life… Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust, to Am Yisrael Chai! and Congregation Beth Tefillah in Atlanta, Georgia. The program will be held at Congregation Beth Tefillah 5065 High Point Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30342, at 7:30 p.m.

For those of you who will be in the Atlanta area on May 17th, please contact the JFR office for more details on the event at jfr@jfr.org or (212) 727-9955. I hope to see some familiar faces this Thursday!

Spring and summer are busy seasons for the education department at the JFR. We are arranging the next locations of the traveling exhibit, Whoever Saves a Single Life…Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust, and coordinating speaking engagements featuring members of the JFR’s Speaker’s Bureau. Currently, we are arranging the loan of the exhibit to the Rust Library in Leesburg, Virginia beginning September 15th. On September 23rd, in conunction with the exhibit, I will be speaking to the community on the importance of rescue during the Holocaust. It is great to see the exhibit getting such exposure across the country. Those of you who are interested in hosting the exhibit should also try to arrange for a member of our Speaker’s Bureau to speak on a related topic. Members of the JFR’s Speakers Bureau are experts in their individual fields and provide a plethora of information and resources on selected topics. Click here to learn more about members of the JFR Speaker’s Bureau and to obtain further information on our exhibit. http://www.jfr.org/site/DocServer/JFR_Exhibit_Fact_Sheet.pdf?docID=961

Beloved JFR rescuer Frieda Adam had a very special birthday this past Friday, May 4, as she celebrated her 94^th year. In July, participants on the European Study Program to Germany and Poland will have the opportunity to meet Frieda. We wish this wonderful rescuer a very happy birthday, and we look forward to seeing her again in July. Click here to read more of her rescue story during the Holocaust.

 

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of beloved rescuer Wladyslaw Miazgowicz. Wladyslaw was born on June 28, 1911 and passed away on March 27, 2012 at the age of 101.  Wladyslaw and his wife Marta hid two Jewish sisters on their farm in Poland during the Holocaust, and were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1998. The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous supported the Miazgowicz’s since 1998.

April 19th marks the commemoration of Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day. This is a day chosen to honor, remember, and reflect upon the lives of six million Jews that were taken over 70 years ago. We remember those that suffered, that fought, and that died, and we honor their legacy through their memory and through their families. The impact of the Holocaust is one that is still felt today, still as strong and as vivid to some as it was then. Let us never forget the atrocities that so changed the world, and let us use the implications and lessons of that time to embrace diversity with respect, tolerance, and understanding.

This week I will be traveling to Florida to speak at programs commemorating Yom Hashoah. Yom Hashoah is the annual day of remembrance that is dedicated to honoring the memory of 6 million Jews who were killed during the Holocaust. This year, the theme of Yom Hashoah is “Choosing to Act: Stories of Rescue.” I will be speaking on rescue and the actions of righteous gentiles during the Holocaust at Temple Emanu- El of Palm Beach on April 19, 2012 (190 North Country Road, Palm Beach, Florida), at 7:30 p.m. The theme of this year’s commemoration presents an opportunity to tell the important stories of our selfless rescuers, and to highlight the good that was done in a time of unspeakable evil.