International Holocaust Day 2011
Yaakov Guterman, Head of Moreshet Institute
Moreshet (Heritage), the Mordecai Anilewicz Testimony House commemorated International Holocaust Day at Bet Vilna this year.
Several years ago, the United Nations declared the 27th of January International Memorial Day for the victims of the Holocaust. That was the date in 1945 on which the Red Army liberated the death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. The United Nations chose this date to symbolize the struggle of the Allied countries against Nazi Germany and the other Axis countries, as well as the suffering of the Jews during the Holocaust. A large crowd attended the impressive event organized by Moreshet that took place at Bet Vilna in Tel Aviv.
The subject of the one-day seminar was "Auschwitz and the Significance of Memory"; it was dedicated to the late Joshua (Robino) Bichler, a member of Lehavot Haviva (a kibbutz) who was the director of Moreshet's archives for many years. His family was present at the event.
The event was moderated by Ya'akov Gutterman, the chairman of Moreshet. The audience sang Hebrew songs along with Danny Katz. Yehuda Bar'am, the chairman of Havatzelet (an educational enterprise) welcomed the audience and thanked Bet Vilna for cooperating with Moreshet and for its hospitality. He said: "Auschwitz has become the symbol of absolute evil, the satanic embodiment of the Holocaust of the Jews of Europe."
Michael Shemyavitz, chairman of the Association, also commended the cooperation with Moreshet and pointed out that Moreshet is one of the most important institutions in Israel dealing with perpetuating the memory of the Holocaust. From a personal viewpoint, as a survivor, he said that Auschwitz was liberated too late. In the last six months of the war, the Germans managed to annihilate half a million Hungarian Jews; the Jews in the Lodz Ghetto that was liquidated were also sent to Auschwitz. He said: "All the events of the Holocaust were to the detriment of the Jews. We hope that we have succeeded in imparting to our descendants not only our fear, frustration and anger at what happened but also the torch of heroism."
D
r. Gila Fatran, a researcher of Slovakian Jewry, eulogized the late Joshua Bichler. She spoke about Joshua, the man and his academic research that centered on Slovakian Jewry. She mentioned incidents from his biography –how he was sent to Auschwitz from Slovakia and was the only member of his family to survive the inferno despite two death marches. The academic session was moderated by Dr. Garsiela Ben-Dror, the director of Moreshet. She thanked the Claims Committee and the Havatezelet Fund for their long-term support of the activities of Moreshet in perpetuating the memory of the Holocaust and in Holocaust education. Professor Moshe Zukerman from TA University gave the keynote address entitled "Áuschwitz as a symbol in the memory of Israel and the international community." He dedicated this fascinating lecture to his father who survived Auschwitz.
Written by Daniella Ozacki
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