WFJCSHD and GSI JOINT CONFERENCE

Transcription

1 WFJCSHD and GSI JOINT CONFERENCE Green Valley Ranch Hotel And Spa Henderson, Nevada November 1-4, 2013

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Hotel Floor Plan. Page 3 Welcome Letters Page 4 Important Notes. Page 7 Special Thanks. Page 9 Program Schedule. Page 10 Plenary Session/Workshops/Seminars/Panels Descriptions Page 18 Biographies Page 25 Attendees List Page 39 [2]

3 Cascada Promenade Grand Ballroom Foyer WFJCSHD and GSI Joint Conference 2013 GREEN VALLEY RANCH HOTEL MEETING ROOMS FLOOR PLAN Entrance from Portico and Lobby REGISTRATION La Cascada III La Sirena IV La Sirena III La Cascada II Del Mar I Del Mar II Del Fuego Grand Ballroom Promenade IV Grand Ballrooms La Cascada I La Sirena II Del Sol I Restroom La Sirena I III II El Viento Promenade La Luna La Estrella El Viento IV El Viento I El Viento II El Viento III Restroom Meeting Rooms and Meals are all on this floor. Exit Lobby and walk to the left out past the valet to the Double Doors leading to the conference space or take the elevator or escalator down to the Events Center. [3]

4 World Federation Of Jewish Child Survivors Of The Holocaust And Descendants Joining hands and hearts to keep Holocaust memory alive, fighting hatred and genocide We are the Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust persecuted by the Nazis in ghettos, in camps, in hiding, on the run or forced to leave Nazi occupied Europe. Our objectives are to represent the interests of the child survivor community, to support each other, to keep alive the memory of the six million Jews including the 1.5 million children murdered during the Holocaust and to pass on our legacy to future generations. We pursue these objectives by telling the stories of our survival, by community interaction, education, holding conferences and by fighting anti-semitism European Association of Jewish Survivors of the Holocaust Friends and Alumni of OSE-USA, MD Hidden Child Foundation/ADL, NY KTA Kindertransport Association, NY Aloumim, Israel Association of Children of the Holocaust in Poland Assn. of Child Survivors in Croatia Assn. of Jewish War Children Amsterdam Assn. of Unknown Children, Netherlands Assn. Of Holocaust Survivors in Sweden Child Survivors Group of British Columbia Child Survivor Group of Sydney, Australia Child Survivors Assn. of Great Britain-AJR Child-Survivors-Deutschland e.v. Child Survivors, Hungary Child Survivors/Hidden Children of Toronto Children of The Shoah, Figli Della Shoah, Italy Generaciones de la Shoá en Argentina Hidden Child Assn. of the Netherlands Hidden Child-Praha Holocaust Children in Sweden Jews Rescuing Jews, Israel Melbourne Child Survivors of the Holocaust Mengele Twins, Israel Montreal Child Survivors/Hidden Children Organizacia Hidden Child, Ukryvane Diet a Slovensko Swiss Assn. of Hidden Children Terezin Initiativa International Terezin Association Ukrainian Assn. of Jews Former Prisoners of Ghetto and Nazi Concentration Camps Union of Former Ghetto and Assn. of Holocaust Survivors from the Former Soviet Union Brooklyn, NY Bay Area Hidden Children, CA Child Survivor Group of Orange Co. CA Child Survivors, Chicago Child Survivors of the Holocaust of Houston Child Survivors of the Holocaust, LA Child Survivors of the Holocaust of N.E. Ohio Child Survivors of the Holocaust, NM Child Survivors/Hidden Children of Palm Beach Co. Colorado Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust Greater Boston Child Survivor Group Greater Seattle Child Survivors Hidden Child/Child Survivor Group of St. Louis Hidden Children Chicago Hidden Children of Rockland County, NY Hidden Children of the Holocaust of Bergen County, NJ Hidden Children of Westchester, NY Hidden Children/Child Survivors of Michigan Holocaust Child Survivors of Connecticut Hungarian Hidden Children New York Jewish Child Holocaust Survivors, Philadelphia Oregon Holocaust Survivors, Refugees and Families Dear Brothers and Sisters, Dear Family and Friends, It is hard to believe; little did I know that, what started as a picnic in 1985 following a meeting of the American Gathering in Philadelphia, would develop into the World Federation, let alone that it would continue growing, to now include Second and Third Generations in our 25 th Annual Conference, this time in cooperation with GSI, Generations of the Shoah International! 25 years! I think it is a clear statement of what our time together has continued to mean to us; we have met in several countries, in cities in US and Canada and each meeting has brought new meaning, new relationships, new understanding into our lives. We have had the input and efforts of several individual Second Generation members working with us for several years, but this year we are grateful for the opportunity to work together with GSI, The Generations of the Shoah International. We also appreciate the help of the Nevada community as we look forward to a meaningful observance of our quarter century of family gatherings! We hope to continue with koach; we will be sharing with you some of the plans already being made for our conference in Berlin in August of next year. We have truly come a long way! I want to acknowledge the stamina, the incredible devotion of our conference team members through these 25 years. We are each truly most thankful to have been able to work together, to trust each other, rely on each other, even as the times have sometimes been hard, as each of us has had health issues, family losses, and not always good life adventures. Yes, when mention is made of the resilience of survivors, we, in all modesty, see that reflected in our lives, our actions. With my warmest and heartfelt greetings to all of you! Stefanie [4]

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7 IMPORTANT NOTES Name Tags and Meal Tickets Please wear your name tag whenever you are in the conference area or participating in any program activities. No one will be admitted into the Conference Halls, dining room, or workshop/seminar rooms without a nametag. Do not forget your meal tickets. Please keep them in the plastic nametag holder, behind the name card. Our security people will check the tickets at each meal. Workshops and Seminars Locations for workshops and seminars are indicated in the program. There will be electronic signs posted on the wall outside the designated workshop/seminar rooms indicating the workshop or seminar scheduled for each session. Check to make sure that this is the one you wish to attend. Please arrive on time so that the workshops and seminars can begin promptly. To protect our privacy, tape recorders and cameras are prohibited in the workshops and seminars. Seminars and panels are open to all, but some workshops are not; so please be sure that the workshop you are entering is not restricted to a group to which you do not belong. Religious Services Services will be held in La Cascada I or II on Friday from 6 7 PM and on Saturday from 7 8 AM. There will be an Orthodox service and an Egalitarian service (Conservative/Reform).Friday night candle lighting will be at 5:30 in La Cascada I. Yoga or Stretch Yoga or Stretch can be practiced each morning from 7:30 8:00 AM in La Sirena III Morning Walk Start your day in a healthy way with a walk (at your pace) followed by stretching, led by Bonnie Stein, Certified Personal Training Specialist and Racewalk Instructor, based in St. Petersburg, Florida. Wear comfortable walking shoes (sneakers preferably) and comfortable exercise clothes. We'll leave the lobby at 7am on Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings. [7]

8 IMPORTANT NOTES (continued) Movies All film showings will be in La Cascada III Meals Meals will be in the Grand Ballroom. There are many places in the hotel or The District to grab a snack between meals. Schmooze Room We have set aside La Sirena IV as a lounge area to relax, schmooze, and visit with friends. Remember to set your clocks back one hour Saturday night [8]

9 THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS SUPPORTERS Judy Mack Rabbi Mintz Doug Unger Henry Kronberg Daniel Miller Philip Miller Anat Bar-Cohen Finder Family Simon Family Trust Frieda Faye Steinberg Kainen Law Group UNLV Las Vegas Jewish Federation Jewish Community Center of Las Vegas King David Memorial Chapel and Cemetery Steve Beyer Productions, Inc. The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany And all the conference attendees who added a donation to their registration forms Please Note: GSI is not a Section 501 (c) (3) organization and has not accepted any funding for this conference. [9]

10 PROGRAM SCHEDULE Friday, November 1, 2013 Registration opens at 12 noon GRAND BALLROOM FOYER 5:30pm CANDLE LIGHTING LA CASCADA I 6:00pm 7:00pm FRIDAY NIGHT SERVICES Orthodox Conservative/Reform LA CASCADA I LA CASCADA II 7:00pm 8:30pm DINNER GRAND BALLROOM Welcome -- Stefanie Seltzer, WFJCHSD, and Esther Finder, GSI 8:30pm GATHERINGS Survivors meet by country of origin: Poland Germany/Austria Czechoslovakia/Romania Netherlands France/Belgium Hungary Other Countries Second Generation Get acquainted Third Generation Get acquainted Spouses / Partners Get acquainted First Time at Conference Get acquainted LA SIRENA I LA SIRENA II EL VIENTO III EL VIENTO IV LA SIRENA III LA CASCADA I LA CASCADA III EL VIENTO II EL VIENTO I LA ESTRELLA LA CASCADA II 10:00pm Briefing for Workshop Facilitators LA LUNA [10]

11 7:00am Saturday, November 2, 2013 RELIGIOUS SERVICES Orthodox LA CASCADA I Conservative/Reform LA CASCADA II Yoga or Stretch LA SIRENA III Morning Walk with Bonnie Stein Leaves from Lobby at 7am 7:30am 9:00am BREAKFAST GRAND BALLROOM 9:15am 10:00am Opening Address GRAND BALLROOM The Future of Our Past: History, Memory, and Education Stephen Smith, Executive Director USC Shoah Foundation 10:15am 12:15pm WORKSHOPS/SEMINARS/PANELS Survivors Only -- Workshops 1 Triggers from our past affecting us today (Natalie Gold) LA SIRENA I 2. Dealing with unfinished business (Daisy Miller) LA SIRENA II 3. For those born (Chaja Verveer) LA LUNA Second/Third Generation -- Workshop 4. How has the Holocaust influenced who we are? (Charles Silow, Doris Schwarz) LA SIRENA III Second/Third Generation --Seminars 5. Caring for the aging survivors in our families and communities (Irit Felsen and Nora Kraidman) EL VIENTO I 6. Speaker training: Preparing for classrooms and other public forums (Esther Finder and Ken Engel) EL VIENTO III [11]

12 Saturday Morning (continued) Spouses/Partners Workshop 7. Living with a survivor as we both grow older (Jim Getola) DEL SOL Open to all 8. Jewish Rescue and Resistance Part 1 (Joanne Gilbert, Miriam Brysk, Anne Griffin, Nan Lefenfeld) EL VIENTO IV 9. Delving into our family genealogy; researching our own history (Michlean Amir and Jerome Kunzman) EL VIENTO II 12:30pm - 1:45pm LUNCH GRAND BALLROOM 2:00pm - 2:45pm Plenary GRAND BALLROOM The Ongoing Pursuit of Justice Eli Rosenbaum, Director of Human Rights Enforcement Strategy and Policy 3:00pm 5:00pm WORKSHOPS/SEMINARS/PANELS Survivors Only -- Workshops 10. Alone Again as Always (Stefanie Seltzer) LA SIRENA I 11. Facing changes as we grow older (Daisy Miller) LA SIRENA II Second/Third Generation -- Workshops 12. Dealing with the losses of our parents; moving into the future (Charles Silow) LA SIRENA III 13. Talking to our children and grandchildren about our family history (Annette Bar-Cohen, Pepi Nichols) DEL SOL [12]

13 Saturday Afternoon (continued) Third Generation Only -- Workshop 14. What is our inheritance and how do we carry on the legacy? (Sarah Weiss and Danna Pycher) LA ESTRELLA Open to all -- Panel 15. The Future of Holocaust Education: Challenges, Issues, Successes (Barbara Wind, Dina Cohen, Miriam Kassanoff, Esther Finder) EL VIENTO IV Open to all -- Workshop 16. Dialogue between the generations (Elisheva Van Der Hal) LA LUNA Open to all -- Seminar 17. Saving Jewish Children in Buchenwald (Ken Waltzer with guests Alex and Steven Moskovic) LA CASCADA III 5:00pm 6:00pm REST / FREE TIME / SCHMOOZING/ FILM Open to all Film 18. Film: Kinderblock 66/ Return to Buchenwald (Ken Waltzer, Alex and Steven Moskovic) LA CASCADA III 6:00pm - 7:00pm Cocktails (Cash Bar) CASCADA PROMENADE 7:00pm - 7:15pm Havdalah GRAND BALLROOM 7:15pm 8:30pm DINNER GRAND BALLROOM 8:30pm Plenary GRAND BALLROOM Son of the Holocaust - From Fact to Fiction Martin Fletcher, Special Correspondent, NBC and PBS 9:15pm - midnight Music/ Dancing GRAND BALLROOM 10:00pm Facilitator Debriefing LA LUNA Enjoy an extra hour of sleep. Set your clocks back one hour before you go to bed. [13]

14 Sunday, November 3, :00am RELIGIOUS SERVICES Orthodox Conservative/Reform Yoga or Stretch Morning Walk with Bonnie Stein LA CASCADA I LA CASCADA II LA SIRENA III Leaves from Lobby at 7am 7:30am 9:00am BREAKFAST GRAND BALLROOM 9:15am - 10:00am Plenary GRAND BALLROOM Antisemitism Today: What Are We Doing About It? Mark Weitzman, Director of Government Affairs, Simon Wiesenthal Center 10:15am 12:15pm WORKSHOPS/SEMINARS/PANELS Survivors only -- Workshops 19. Communicating with our children and grandchildren: what do I still want them to know? (Stefanie Seltzer) LA SIRENA I 20. How to cope with sadness and still cherish enjoyment in our present lives (Natalie Gold) LA SIRENA II Second/Third Generation -- Workshops 21. Dealing with our pain and anger (Carol Kornreich) LA SIRENA III 22. What are the challenges we face as living memorial candles? (Janice Friebaum) DEL SOL [14]

15 Spouses/Partners -- Workshop Sunday Morning (continued) 23. A dialogue with couples (Mr. and Mrs. Jim Getola and Chaja Verveer) DEL FUEGO Open to all -- Panels 24. Spirituality after the Shoah (Michael Milgraum, Rabbi Felipe Goodman, Ken Engel) LA CASCADA III 25. Jewish Rescue and Resistance, Part 2 (Curt Lowens, Ken Waltzer, Monique Saigal, Harold Minuskin, Nan Lefenfeld) EL VIENTO II Open to all -- Workshop 26. Dialogue between the generations (Daisy Miller) LA ESTRELLA 27. Memoir writing (Joanne Gilbert) EL VIENTO IV 12:30pm - 1:45pm LUNCH GRAND BALLROOM 2:00pm - 2:45pm Plenary GRAND BALLROOM Transgenerational Transmission of Trauma -- Can nightmares be inherited? Natan Kellerman, Past Executive Director of AMCHA/Jerusalem 3:00pm 5:00pm WORKSHOPS/SEMINARS/PANELS Survivors Only -- Workshops 28. Our resilience and resourcefulness - then and today: moving on (Elisheva Van der Hal) LA SIRENA I 29. What do I want for the rest of my life? (Natalie Gold) LA SIRENA II Second/Third Generation -- Workshop 30. How has our parents experiences strengthened us as people? (Irit Felsen and Carole Kornreich) DEL SOL [15]

16 Second/Third Generation -- Panel Sunday Afternoon (continued) 31. What works and what doesn t in our local groups? (Bonnie Stein, Sandy Hoffman, Janice Friebaum) EL VIENTO II Open to All -- Seminar 32. Personal approach to writing an Ethical Will: passing on the values to next generations (Stefanie Seltzer) EL VIENTO III Open to All -- Workshop 33. Dialogue between generations (Alfred Garwood) LA LUNA Open to All -- Panel 34. Ways of passing down the education / history (Charles Silow, Sherry Bard, Felicia Anchor, Sandy Lessig, Karen Brass) EL VIENTO IV Open to All Panel and Film 35. They Went Back to Fight discussion with showing of the film The Real Inglorious Bastards (Eli Rosenbaum, Esther Finder) LA CASCADA III 5:30pm - 7:00pm DINNER GRAND BALLROOM 7:15pm 9:30pm (COMMUNITY-WIDE EVENT) KRISTALLNACHT COMMEMORATION GRAND BALLROOM I - IV Kristallnacht: The Reich Pogrom at 75: The End of the Beginning, the Beginning of the End Speaker: Michael Berenbaum, Director of the Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust at the American Jewish University 9:30pm 11:30pm MUSIC and DANCING GRAND BALLROOM 10:00pm FACILITATOR DEBRIEFING LA LUNA [16]

17 Monday, November 4, :00am RELIGIOUS SERVICES Orthodox Conservative/Reform Yoga or Stretch Morning Walk with Bonnie Stein LA CASCADA I LA CASCADA II LA SIRENA III Leaves from Lobby at 7am 7:30am 9:00am BREAKFAST GRAND BALLROOM 9:15am - 10:00am Plenary GRAND BALLROOM Panel: Where do we go from here? Speakers: Sarah Weiss, Esther Finder, Barbara Wind Moderator: Charles Silow 10:15am 11:00am CLOSING CEREMONY GRAND BALLROOM להתראות (Until we meet again) WFJCSHD MEETS NEXT YEAR in BERLIN! TRAVEL SAFELY [17]

18 Morning Walk DESCRIPTIONS OF WORKSHOPS, PANELS, SEMINARS Saturday, November 1, 2013 Start your day in a healthy way with a walk (at your pace) followed by stretching, led by Bonnie Stein, Certified Personal Training Specialist and Racewalk Instructor, based in St. Petersburg, Florida. Wear comfortable walking shoes (sneakers preferably) and comfortable exercise clothes. We'll leave the lobby at 7am on Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings. 1. Triggers from our past still affecting us today (Natalie Gold) This workshop will focus on discussing current experiences which may bring with them memories of events in our past, particularly pre-war, or war experiences. These are often called triggers. We all have such triggers, both happy and sad. Examples might be the smell of bread baking, the sound of some melody, the feel of some cloth. Some might be triggered by trains, or even the sight of railroad tracks. In our discussion we will, hopefully, find some common threads of such triggers and share how they make our life experiences unique. 2. Dealing with unfinished business Can I now speak about it? (Daisy Miller) What do we regret not having said to those we love and care about, and now we no longer can. What do we wish we would have been able to hear, and now it is too late. How can we make sure that we do not add to our regrets in going forward what is it we still want or need to tell and have never told before?? Together we will explore how now may be the time to deal with our unfinished business and avoid further regrets. 3. For those born between (Chaja Verveer) For those of us who were very young survivors, normal was that which WE experienced during the war. We have no memory of life before the war. After the war, we were often told we are not really survivors as we were too young to understand or remember and should just forget about it. Yet our lives have been forever affected and changed by that past, and we are left with our own remembered experiences. We are left with the wounds and the scars, which although different from older Child Survivors, are still valid for us. Here we will be able to share and talk with others like us. [18]

19 4. How has the Holocaust influenced who we are as people? (Charles Silow ) (Workshop) Our parents survived the Holocaust and that impacted their lives. How has our parents experiences, and our own experiences as descendants of survivors, impacted the choices / decisions we made and the values we adopted? In this workshop we explore how we came to be the people we are. 5. Caring for the aging survivors in our families and communities (Irit Felsen and Nora Kraidman) (Seminar) What are the special needs / concerns we address as we care for our aging survivor parents? What resources are available to us? How can we best help them age with dignity? We will explore these and other questions. 6. Speaker training: Preparing us for classrooms and other public forums (Esther Finder and Ken Engel) (Seminar) It is vitally important that anyone who speaks publicly about the Holocaust does so well. Increasingly children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors are being asked to speak in schools and at commemorations. In this seminar you will learn some basic public speaking tips, time management skills and you will be provided with resources to help you as you venture forth to carry on this legacy. 7. Living with a survivor as we both grow older (Jim Getola) (Workshop) Living with a Child Survivor can at times become challenging, particularly when periods of stress bring back reminiscences of difficult and painful early experiences. As we have gone through life together, we have learned to get along with greater and better understanding of one another. Does our growing older, with its potential for new issues, and aging related problems, pose new challenges in our relationships? 8. Jewish Rescue and Resistance, Part 1 (Joanne Gilbert, Miriam Brysk, Anne Griffin, moderated by Nan Lefenfeld) Many years ago our WF conferences began recognizing and honoring "Jews Rescued Jews". We saw this as one way to prove wrong the concept that "Jews went to the slaughter like sheep". They/we did not. This panel will explore Jewish Rescue and Resistance, both armed and unarmed, by individual men and women and by networks, many whose mission was to save Jewish children. In that process many of our young heroes risked their own lives time and time again, and often gave up their lives. Sadly, these acts of heroism have not been recognized sufficiently by Holocaust educational institutions and museums, including Yad Vashem, and not become part of Holocaust Education, in the way they should be. [19]

20 9. Delving into our family genealogy and researching our own history (Michlean Amir and Jerry Kunzman) Explore the various resources available to trace your family s history before and during the Holocaust. The discussion will include the International Tracing Service in Bad Arolsen, Germany, and other resources at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and the materials available through JewishGen. 10. Alone Again as Always (Stefanie Seltzer) Many of us have been or have felt alone during our life. As we face the future we may have to face aloneness again. We may be, or may become widowed - we may have never married - or we may be someone who has no children to rely on. How have we coped and dealt with our being, and feeling alone? In this workshop we will discuss and share how we can accept and take on the challenges of our aloneness as we move forward with our life. 11. Facing and dealing with many changes in our lives as we grow older (Daisy Miller) As Child Survivors, we had to overcome many challenges. Now we are facing the challenges of our growing older, and all of the changes that this time of life represents. Some of these changes provide new opportunities such as more leisure time, new interests, new relationships as well as new physical and emotional challenges. In this workshop we will share and learn from one another, will come to better understand what may be ahead, and how to best deal with it all. 12. Dealing with the losses of our survivor parents and moving forward into the future (Charles Silow) For those of us who never knew our grandparents, we are now learning about caring for and losing our parents. But we are not just losing our beloved parents, we are losing eyewitnesses to history and the last links to the world that was. How do we say goodbye and move forward? 13. Talking to our children and grandchildren about our family history (Annette Bar-Cohen and Pepi Nichols) What do we tell our children and grandchildren and when? What kinds of things should we emphasize? How can we teach the stories of the Shoah with pride and respect? 14. What is our inheritance and how do we carry on the legacy? (Sarah Weiss and Danna Pycher) As grandchildren of survivors we are the last generation to really know survivors. We are their bridge to the future but how do we carry this legacy on? [20]

21 15. The Future of Holocaust Education: Challenges, Issues and Successes (Barbara Wind, Dina Cohen, Miriam Kassanoff, moderated by Esther Finder) There are new and exciting programs being developed for Holocaust education and commemoration. Hear what is new in the US and internationally. 16. Dialogue between the generations (Elisheva Van Der Hal) Survivors have a story and it is important to share it Second Generation and Third Generation have also been impacted by the Holocaust and need to be able to talk about their feelings and experiences as well. It is important to consider and be considerate of each other and to allow for each experience as they are each deeply affecting with life-long ramifications. The goal of this workshop is to share, listen, and HEAR, one another. 17/18. Kinderblock 66/ Return to Buchenwald (Film and panel) (Ken Waltzer, Alex and Steven Moskovic) On April 11, 1945, Buchenwald concentration camp was liberated. Nearly 1,000 boys survived. On April 11, 2010, sixty-five years later, several of the surviving boys from Block 66 returned to Weimar and the Buchenwald. This is their story. Sunday, November 3, Communicating with our children and grandchildren: what do I still want them to know? (Stefanie Seltzer) Are we at peace with our relationships with our children and grandchildren? Something that is particularly meaningful now that we are facing old age. This workshop will provide us the opportunity to share, and learn with one another, about how to deal with our feelings, our concerns, and how to best communicate them to our families. 20. How to cope with sadness and still cherish enjoyment in our present lives (Natalie Gold) At this stage in our lives we re-experience our past losses and live with present ones. Together we will look at how we coped in the past and still enjoyed life, which will be of help in dealing with our present and future life. 21. Dealing with our pain and anger (Carol Kornreich) Some of us are angry as a result of how our families suffered during the Shoah. Our family s suffering causes us pain. How can we deal with these feelings? Is there a way to channel these emotions into something positive? [21]

22 22. What are the challenges we face as living memorial candles? (Sandy Hoffman and Janice Friebaum) Those of us who are passionate about carrying on the history and legacy of our families have to consider the best methods for accomplishing our goal. In this workshop we will talk about some of the challenges and rewards of carrying the torch of remembrance. 23. A dialogue with couples (Mr. and Mrs. Jim Getola and Chaja Verveer) As we have gone through life together, we have learned to get along with greater and better understanding of one another. Does our growing older with its potential for new issues, and aging related problems, pose new challenges in our relationships? Our discussion will focus on ways in which we continue to build on our experiences to enhance our lives together. 24. Spirituality after the Shoah (Michael Milgraum, Rabbi Felipe Goodman, moderated by Ken Engel) For some, their experiences in the Shoah strengthened their religious beliefs. Others lost all faith or have an ongoing quarrel with G-D. How has the Holocaust impacted spirituality? 25. Jewish Rescue and Resistance, Part 2 (Curt Lowens, Ken Waltzer, Monique Saigal, Harold Minuskin, moderated by Nancy Lefenfeld) Many years ago our WF conferences began recognizing and honoring "Jews Rescued Jews". We saw this as one way to prove wrong the concept that "Jews went to the slaughter like sheep". They/we did not. This panel will explore Jewish Rescue and Resistance, both armed and unarmed, by individual men and women and by networks, many whose mission was to save Jewish children. In that process many of our young heroes risked their own lives time and time again, and often gave up their lives. Sadly, these acts of heroism have not been recognized sufficiently by Holocaust educational institutions and museums, including Yad Vashem, and not become part of Holocaust Education, in the way they should be. 26. Dialogue between the generations (workshop) (Daisy Miller) Survivors have a story and it is important to share it Second Generation and Third Generation have also been impacted by the Holocaust and need to be able to talk about their feelings and experiences as well. It is important to consider and be considerate of each other and to allow for each experience as they are each deeply affecting with life-long ramifications. The goal of this workshop is to share, listen, and HEAR, one another. [22]

23 27. Memoir writing (Joanne Gilbert) Session will include strategies for writing memoirs and resources for memoir writing support. 28. Our resilience and resourcefulness-then and today: moving on (Elisheva Van der Hal) Although surviving the Holocaust as a child was often a matter of miraculous good luck, courageous elders, and other external sources, there were many moments when even the smallest children had to rely on their own resilience and resourcefulness in order to survive. In this workshop we will explore and share how we were able to save ourselves at that time and how we can use those abilities to help us overcome difficult situations at present. 29. What do I want for the rest of my life? (Natalie Gold) What do I still want to experience, learn, accomplish, and do?? Is there more to my life? How do I go about making it happen? In this workshop we will explore and deal with all the potential ahead, and why we still feel the wish, the need, to look forward even having had our histories and so many experiences in our past. 30. How has our parents experiences strengthened us as people? (Irit Felsen and Carole Kornreich) Survivors had more than just luck that helped them make it through the Shoah. What have we learned from their experiences that has helped us? 31. What works and what doesn t in our local groups? (Bonnie Stein, Sandy Hoffman and Janice Friebaum) Communities have their distinct personalities, interests and priorities. What kinds of programs / activities work best in your local 2G or 3G group? This panel will discuss what has worked well and what has not in other groups around the US. 32. Personal approach to writing an Ethical Will: passing on the values to next generations (Seminar) (Stefanie Seltzer) Ethical Wills are about sharing and handing down to our family and friends our VALUES, not our valuables. Particularly important for us survivors, who want to hand down the lessons we have learned; the lessons that have shaped our values, our lives. This session will offer the tools and start you on the way to putting your values on paper. [23]

24 33. Dialogue between generations (Alfred Garwood) Survivors have a story and it is important to share it Second Generation and Third Generation have also been impacted by the Holocaust and need to be able to talk about their feelings and experiences as well. It is important to consider and be considerate of each other and to allow for each experience as they are each deeply affecting with life-long ramifications. The goal of this workshop is to share, listen, and HEAR, one another. 34. Ways of passing down the education / history (Charles Silow, Sherry Bard, Felicia Anchor, Sandy Lessig. Moderated by Karen Brass) With today s technology we have many new ways to create and share our history and promote Holocaust education. This panel will discuss a variety of methods ranging from classroom programs to dedicated websites. 35. They Went Back to Fight and the film The Real Inglorious Bastards (Film and Panel) (Eli Rosenbaum and Esther Finder) Too often it is said that Jews went to the gas chambers like sheep to the slaughter. This film tells the true story of two refugees from the Reich who went back as spies and carried out one of the most successful missions in the war. After the screening there will be a discussion with Eli Rosenbaum (whose father went back with the US military) and Esther Finder. Monday, November 4, 2013 Panel : Where do we go from here (Sarah Weiss, Esther Finder, Barbara Wind moderated by Charles Silow) How can we insure that the memory of the Holocaust experience and all it represents is passed down from generation to generation to be forever remembered? [24]

25 BIOGRAPHIES OF PRESENTERS, PANELISTS, AND FACILITATORS Michlean Amir is the Reference Coordinator of the Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. She has been working at the Museum for the past fifteen years as reference librarian and archivist. She has presented many papers at conferences for the two organizations mentioned above as well as elsewhere, such as at the Jewish Genealogical Society, Yad Vashem, and history conferences held in the Czech Republic. Michlean has written papers on such subjects as Yizkor Books, the International Tracing Service (ITS), contemporary Israeli literature, and other topics. Felicia Figlarz Anchor was born in the Bergen Belsen Displaced Person's Camp to Survivor parents. She is a certified Professional Counselor and holds a Certificate in Non Profit Management. She is the immediate past Chair of the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, appointed by three Governors to that position. Under her leadership, the Commission supported a book entitled, "The Holocaust and Other Genocides" and a multi faceted educational program entitled. "Living On" to provide first hand educational opportunities to students and the public to learn about the Holocaust from eye witnesses. She created and led a one-half million dollar campaign to build a Holocaust Memorial in Nashville dedicated in Anat Bar-Cohen**, co-president of the Generation After, Washington DC, is a founding member of CHAIM, the Children of Holocaust Survivors Association in Minnesota and of GSI. She has given talks about her experience as a child of survivors in many venues, and helps plan Holocaust-related programs in the Washington DC area. She is a member of the Greater Washington DC Community Yom HaShoah Planning Committee and was a member of the Twin Cities Yom Hashoah Committee, participating in the planning and implementation of numerous commemorations and programs in both cities. She was on the Steering Committee for the Chicago 2002, Living the Legacy conference. Anat also participated in Holocaust education programs in Israel where she and her family lived for 12 years. Sherry Bard is an educational consultant and resides in Los Angeles, California. She worked at the USC Shoah Foundation for more than seventeen years where she was responsible for overseeing numerous domestic and international projects and programs including Echoes and Reflections, a partnership with the Anti-Defamation League and Yad Vashem. While at the USC Shoah Foundation, she initiated and launched its flagship Master Teacher Program, which established a national network of educators who serve as experts and ambassadors for testimony-based educational resources. From 1997 to 2013 she served on the Education Committee at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Sherry is also a former English teacher. She grew up in New York and is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. [25]

26 Michael Berenbaum is director of the Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust at the American Jewish University (formerly the University of Judaism) where he is also a Professor of Jewish Studies. For three years, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. He was also the Director of the United States Holocaust Research Institute at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Hymen Goldman Adjunct Professor of Theology at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. From he served as Project Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, overseeing its creation. Michael is also the author and editor of twenty books, scores of scholarly articles, and hundreds of journalistic pieces. Karen Zauder Brass is an international public speaker, and published author of the book- "I Am a Standupster: A Second Generation Holocaust Survivor's Account by the Daughter of David Zauder" which has been sold in over 6 countries. She has delivered her programs to students from 5 th grade through university, as well as to our esteemed military, including NORAD. She recently earned the 2013 Colorado Cross Disability Coalition Annual Award, for her work in preventing injustice and her promotion of education in and acceptance of all disabilities. She teaches that the Holocaust has many lessons to share; hatred, intolerance and a lack of empathy for all people and those with differences must not be accepted. Education is the key to teaching that being a bystander is no longer equal to being innocent of the crime. There are no longer innocent bystanders. Miriam Miasnik Brysk was born in Warsaw Poland in She is a survivor of the Lida ghetto and its massacre of May She and her parents escaped to the nearby Lipiczany forest and became Russian partisans; her father Dr. Chaim Miasnik, a noted surgeon, ran a partisan hospital. The family came to America in Miriam obtained her Ph.D. from Columbia University and went on to become a scientist and medical school professor at the University of Texas. Since retiring in 2000, she has become a writer and artist on the Holocaust. Gihon River Press has published two of her books: a memoir Amidst the Shadows of Trees: A Holocaust Child s Survival in the Partisans, and a book of her Holocaust art The Stones Weep: Teaching the Holocaust through a Survivor's Art. As an artist, she has had many exhibits. Three of her artworks are part of the permanent collection of Yad Vashem. Her art can be viewed on: [26]

27 Dina Cohen** is the Coordinator of Generations of the Shoah - New Jersey and a member of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Holocaust Council of Greater MetroWest serving Essex, Morris, Sussex, Union and parts of Sussex counties in New Jersey. She is also a member of the Holocaust Advisory Committee of Jewish Family Services of MetroWest, which sponsors Cafe Europa: the Holocaust Survivor Friendship Society, and the Advisory Board of the Holocaust Education Resource Center at the College of Saint Elizabeth. She was an interviewer for the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation and volunteered in the Office of Survivor Affairs at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Dina has also been active in second generation groups in other areas. Ken Engel** is former Chair and one of the founding members of CHAIM, Children of Holocaust Survivors Association in Minnesota. He is a member of the Speakers' Bureau of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas and speaks with school, college, municipal, synagogue, educator, church, industry and private groups, clubs and organizations about the Shoah, Israel and related topics. Irit Felsen is a clinical psychologist in private practice and an Adjunct Professor at Yeshiva University in NY. Born in Israel to Holocaust survivor parents, Dr.Felsen has focused her research and clinical work on survivors, second generation and other trauma survivors. Dr. Felsen s dissertation at Hebrew University addressed Identification Patterns of Offspring of Holocaust Survivors with their Parents. During her post-doctoral fellowship in clinical psychology at Yale Psychiatric Institute, Dr. Felsen worked with Dr. Dori Laub, Institute Director and Co-founder of the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale. Together, they also interviewed chronically hospitalized Holocaust survivors in Israel and studied the evidence for PTSD with psychosis in these patients. Dr. Felsen s research on transgenerational transmission of the effects of the Holocaust has been published in the International Handbook of Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma, the American Journal of Orthopyschiatry, the American Journal of Psychiatry, and presented at conferences in the USA, Canada, Europe and Israel. Esther Toporek Finder**, an adjunct professor of psychology, is Founder and President of Generations of the Shoah Nevada and former President of The Generation After in the Washington, DC area. Esther was a member of the official US Delegation to the Holocaust Era Assets Conference in Prague in June, She was designated to represent the Holocaust survivor community and spoke about caring for aging survivor parents from the perspective of the survivor families. She was also appointed by the Governor of Nevada to the Advisory Council on Education Relating to the Holocaust and is a member of the board of the Holocaust Survivors Group of Southern Nevada. Esther was a volunteer interviewer for both the US Holocaust [27]

28 Memorial Museum and the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation (Shoah Foundation). Esther was on the Task Force to create a Holocaust, Genocide Studies, Human Rights and Tolerance Center in Maryland as the designee of the Secretary of Higher Education. Raymonde (Ray) Fiol** is a child Holocaust survivor from France. She has been on the Board of the Holocaust Survivors Group of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas and has served as President of that group since Ray also serves on the Governor s Advisory Council on Education Relating to the Holocaust and on the planning committee of the Clark County Curriculum and Professional Development Student / Teacher Education Conference and consults on the Las Vegas Yom Hashoah Commemorations. She is actively involved in the local Speakers Bureau and works tirelessly to promote Holocaust education in her area. Martin Fletcher, long-time bureau chief and correspondent for NBC News in the Middle East, is today a special correspondent with NBC and PBS. Winner of numerous broadcasting awards, including five Emmy Awards, he has written two non-fiction books including Walking Israel, winner of the National Jewish book award, as well as two novels. The latest is Jacob s Oath. Janice Friebaum is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor from Warsaw, Poland. She has formed, consulted on forming, led and participated in numerous second generation groups. With the help of others, she recently launched and is serving as the leader of Generations After Descendants of Holocaust Survivors in Greater Phoenix. She holds master s degrees in plant ecology as well as Jewish and Holocaust studies. Originally from New York City, Janice has lived in Tennessee, Oregon, Washington State, Illinois, Florida and currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona. Alfred Garwood, M.D., was born in October 1942, in the Przemysl Ghetto in Poland. Together with his parents and four-year-old sister, eight-month-old Alfred was taken in July 1943 on the first transport to Bergen-Belsen. The family was liberated from the Last Transport. Dr. Garwood is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and Group Analyst and has been in private practice for 26 years. Winner of the British Journal of Psychotherapy Prize in 1998, he has published many articles and presented papers at international conferences. Alfred is the founder of both the British Child Survivors' Association and the Survivors' Centre in London. He has facilitated workshops at the child survivors conferences for many years. [28]

29 Jim Getola was born in Elmira, New York during WWII into an Italian American Catholic family. In 1977 Jim married Chaja Verveer, a child survivor from Holland; they live in Friendswood, TX. He recently retired and is using his business experience to work as a counselor with an organization providing education and mentoring to small and start-up businesses. Jim has been a volunteer counselor with a crisis intervention group in Houston. He was a member of the organizing committee for the Houston Conference and has conducted numerous Child Survivor Conference workshops and seminars, facilitating the workshops for spouses of child survivors.joanne Gilbert is a writer, educator and personal historian. She is committed to preserving Jewish History one story at a time. She is currently completing her book Women of Valor: Female Resistance to the Nazis which is based on her extensive first-hand interviews with Jewish and Gentile women who, as teenagers, defied the Nazis. Natalie Gold was born in Radsimin, Poland in When she was 18 months old her parents left her at the door of a police station, hoping someone would care for her. She was taken into a Catholic convent where she spent the war years. Her father found her after the war. He remarried and the family moved to France, and in 1957 came to the U.S. Natalie received her Bachelor s degree in Social Work from California State University Long Beach, and her Masters in Social Work from the University of Southern California. After 25 years of working with the elderly, Natalie returned to the California Institute for Clinical Social Work, where she is a PhD Candidate. A psychotherapist, she specializes in trauma work, particularly that of 2 nd and 3 rd generation of Holocaust survivors. She is a founding member of the Los Angeles Child Survivor group and frequently facilitates workshops at the International Child Survivor Conferences. Rabbi Felipe Goodman, from Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas, was chosen by The Daily Forward as one of America s Most Inspiring Rabbis: 36 Rabbis Shaping the 21 st Century. He was handpicked to be a member of The Chancellor s Rabbinic Advisory Committee at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America under Chancellor Arnold Eisen, one of only 13 American Rabbis so honored. Rabbi Goodman was appointed by the Rabbinical Assembly to serve in the Joint Placement Commission of the Conservative Movement. He currently serves in The Executive Committee of The Rabbinical Assembly and served as President of the Board of Rabbis of Southern Nevada. Rabbi Goodman is also one of a group of 27 Conservative Rabbis in the world, certified by The Joint Beth Din of The Conservative Movements as experts in the laws and writing of "Gittin" (Jewish Writs of Divorce). [29]

30 Anne Griffin is Professor of Political Science at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Since 1998 she has been gathering testimonies of the last surviving members of the Resistance in Belgium. Her documentary installation, Resistance and Memory in Belgium, , was exhibited most recently in 2008 at the Verzetsmuseum in Amsterdam; in , it was on view for seven months at the Yeshiva University Museum in New York City. In she was Fulbright Senior Research Scholar at the Center for the Study of War and Contemporary Societies in Brussels. From she was a Visiting Scholar at the Center for European and Mediterranean Studies. Currently Dr. Griffin is completing a book on Resistance in Belgium, based on her own interviews with former resisters. Her recent article, Fragmented Testament: Letters Written by World War II Resisters Before Their Execution, has received critical acclaim. Professor Griffin is a graduate of Wellesley College and received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from New York University s Department of Politics. Sandy Hoffman** is the President and a founding member of Generation After in Milwaukee, past Chairperson of the Nathan & Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center, and former longtime Chairperson of the Yom Hashoah Commemoration Committee in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was an interviewer for the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation (Shoah Foundation), the Fortunoff Video Archive of Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University and the Marquette University project, European Jewish Life. Miriam Klein Kassanoff fled Nazi Europe as a young child. Dr. Klein co-authored Memories of the Night: A Study of the Holocaust, as well as Studying the Holocaust Through Film and Literature with Dr. Anita Meyer Meinbach. She is the Education Chairperson at the Holocaust Memorial, Greater Miami Jewish Federation in Miami Beach, Florida, the Director of the Summer Teacher Institute on Holocaust Studies through the University of Miami s School of Education, and is presently an instructor with The Melton School of Judaic Studies teaching Reflections on the Holocaust Through Diaries and Memoirs. In May 2010, Miriam was awarded the Florida Holocaust Museum Holocaust Educator of the Year in Tampa Florida. In March 2011, Miriam was honored by the Miami Dade Women s History Coalition as a 2011 Woman of Impact Award. Presently as of 2013, Miriam is working on the film Treblinka in cooperation with Dr. Michael Berenbaum and PBS/ WLRN in Miami as an Education Consultant. [30]

31 Natan Kellermann PhD was the Chief Clinical Psychologist of AMCHA/Jerusalem between , its Executive Director between , and its Project Development Director until the end of For more than ten years, he lectured on Holocaust trauma at the International School for Holocaust Studies in Yad Vashem. He was born in Sweden in 1953 to survivors of the Holocaust, but lives in Jerusalem with his family since For more information, please see Carole Kornreich, M.D. was born in New York City in 1948, and raised primarily in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. Her mother was from Vienna, Austria, and was finally able to leave for the U.S. in June, Her father was from Munkas, Hungary, and arrived in the U.S. in 1939 after spending six years in Palestine. Dr. Kornreich has recently retired from her 34 year career as a psychiatrist. She was involved in a 2G support group during the early 1980 s and was a facilitator for the Rocky Mountain Regional Gathering of Jewish Child survivors of WWII starting in She was also actively involved in the planning of the 2004 Child Survivors conference in Denver. Nora Kraidman served in the Israeli Defense Forces and completed her B.A in Social and Mathematical Sciences at Haifa University, Israel. After completing her Masters of Science degree in Clinical Mental Health Nora joined the Jewish Family Service Agency in the position of Claims Conference Coordinator and later Director of Senior Services. She works with Survivors in the Las Vegas community to ensure they receive the services they need such as transportation, homecare and medical assistance and has successfully assisted many of the Survivors in our community in applying for reparations. She is in the process of developing Senior Services for Jewish Family Service Agency. Jerry Kunzman has been researching genealogy for about 30 years. Starting with his own family, he has traced his paternal side back to the late 1700 s in Poland and Russia, and is still researching his maternal roots. He now mentors and helps many others in their research. He also lectures frequently on a variety of genealogical subjects to various groups and societies. Jerry has degrees in Engineering, Physics, and Medicine and retired from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in He moved to Las Vegas upon retirement and currently serves as the Vice President of both the Clark County Nevada Genealogical Society (CCNGS) and the Jewish Genealogy Society of Southern Nevada (JGSSN). Nancy Lefenfeld is an independent scholar living in Maryland. Since 1998, she has conducted research on the subject of Jewish rescue in France during the Shoah. Her particular area of interest is the smuggling of Jewish children from France into Switzerland in the fall of She has conducted research in Geneva, Paris, New York, Vienna, and elsewhere. She has also interviewed child survivors smuggled into Switzerland as well as Jewish and Christian rescuers. Her book, The Fate of Others: [31]