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Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center

Westchester Area Authors to Appear Live to Discuss New Book on the Holocaust

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 April 10, 2024 — A group of Westchester County area second-generation Holocaust survivors will appear live today on Zoom starting at 7 p.m. to discuss a book they have written and published documenting their families’ experiences during the Holocaust. Testaments of Courage in the Holocaust is a compilation of true stories told by the authors that describes the courage and resilience of their family members who escaped the Nazis’ final solution.

“Putting this book together was a labor of love for me – a gift to the dear friends I met when I joined a Storykeeping Workshop sponsored by the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center.” said Melanie Roher, one of the authors of the book. “When I listened to everyone’s stories during the class, I wanted to remember them, and not lose them over time. It has been a joy to work with each of my classmates, whose parents’ stories now live on these pages. “

Top row, from L to R: Debby Ziering, Gloria Lazar, Melanie Roher, Dennis Schoen, Michelle Griffenberg, Ziporah Janowski, Pat Gaston, Joan Poulin. Bottom row from L to R: Helen Rubel, Vivian Pronin, Tina Goldman,* Julie Lowy,* Mónica Mandell. *These two participants continue to research and develop their stories. Their narratives do not appear in the book.

Roher lives in White Plains, NY, and she is a member of the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) GenerationsForward Speakers Bureau, a second and third generation group that includes children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors who appear at area schools, synagogues, churches and other community events. HHREC Memory Keepers are trained speakers who tell their family’s story from their next generation perspective, adding new meaning to the survivors’ powerful stories of witness. Other local authors whose stories appear in the book include Pat Gaston (Irvington), Tina Goldman (Ossining), Michelle Griffenberg (Tarrytown), Ziporah Janowski (Croton on the Hudson), Gloria Lazar (Tarrytown), Joan Poulin (Somers), Vivian Pronin (Hastings-on-Hudson) Helen Rubel (Irvington), Dennis Schoen (Fairlawn, NJ), and Debby Ziering (Greenwich, CT.)

In the book Forward written by Lazar, she describes her experience working with fellow authors. “The personal histories in this book reflect months and years of research and reflection by a group of second and third generation descendants of Holocaust survivors, and in one case, a child Holocaust survivor. During the winter and spring of 2019, we met in a workshop each week and engaged in the arduous process of dissecting and writing our family histories. We searched through letters, diaries, photographs, audio and video tapes – every form of record – to uncover the struggle, displacement and survival of our family members who emigrated to the United States from almost every country in Europe where Jews were hunted by the Nazis. They are remembered by daughters, sons and grandchildren determined to document the courage of these brave individuals who escaped the Nazis’ final solution. The difficult journeys taken by our families reflect the ultimate triumph of the human spirit against the inhumane efforts by the Nazis to eliminate the Jews of Europe. We honor these brave men and women whose DNA we possess and whose spirit we hope to illuminate in our stories.“

The book is available for sale on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Testaments-Courage-Holocaust-Children-Survivors/dp/B0C87SSX3L and is available for teachers to utilize in their classrooms from the HHREC Anna & Nicholas Elefant Library in White Plains.

To register for this event visit HHRECNY.org. 

Holocaust Survivors Join HHREC Speakers Bureau

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The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) of White Plains, NY has announced three Holocaust Survivors have joined their Speakers Bureau.

Dr. Victor Borden (lower right above) is the son of Holocaust survivors Rywen (Roman) and Mina Bornsztajin (Bronstein), who were born and raised in Lodz, Poland from prosperous families. Victor tells the chilling story of his parents’ journey that started in Poland, as they survived imprisonment in the Soviet Union and eventually immigrated to America, where their son enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served as a physician.

Ernest “Ernie” Brod (upper left) is a Holocaust Survivor who was born in Vienna, Austria in 1938. As a young boy he had to confront the grim realities of his father being among the first Jews killed in the early days of the Holocaust and seeing his brother sent off on a Kindertransport to England. A series of near miracles saved him and his mother from serving time in a concentration camp, and they made their way to Lisbon, Portugal before they finally immigrated to America in 1941. Ernie tells the story of how he and his family struggled to survive and eventually resettle in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn where he met his brother for the first time. A lawyer by training, he has spent the past 40 years as a corporate investigator and has been widely recognized as a leading expert in the field.

Charles Srebnik (upper right) is a Holocaust Survivor who was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1934 to Maria and Leon Srebnik. On May 10, 1940 German forces invaded Belgium, and by October the occupying military government began instituting anti-Jewish measures. His family went into hiding to escape the German onslaught by living at a cottage overlooking a lake near Genval.

Charles shares his story of being saved by a Catholic priest by hiding in orphanages to survive and eventually immigrating with his mother to America.

“We are very pleased to have such distinguished Holocaust Survivors who are witnesses to history join our Speakers Bureau and share their experiences with area high school and college students, and people who gather in our local communities.” said Millie Jasper, Executive Director, HHREC. “here stories will endure as they are of historical significance, and we need to hear them today more than ever.“

For more information about the HHREC Speakers Bureau, and to schedule an appearance at area schools, synagogues, churches and civic centers visit HHRECNY.org  

About The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in White Plains New York that serves schools, synagogues, colleges, churches and civic centers in Westchester and the greater Hudson Valley area. The HHREC Mission is to enhance the teaching and learning of the lessons of the Holocaust and the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect. HHREC works with teachers and students to help schools fulfill the New York State mandate that the Holocaust and other human rights abuses be included in their curriculum. Since 1994, the HHREC has brought the lessons of the Holocaust, genocide and human rights violations to more than 3,000 teachers, and through them to thousands of students. For more information visit www.hhrecny.org call 914.696.0738 email info@hhrecny.org

 

Local Authors Publish Book about the Holocaust

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THE AUTHORS: Top row (L-R): Debby Ziering, Gloria Lazar, Melanie Roher, Dennis Schoen, Michelle Griffenberg, Ziporah Janowski, Pat Gaston, Joan Poulin. Bottom row (L-R): Helen Rubel, Vivian Pronin, Tina Goldman,* Julie Lowy,* Mónica Mandell.    **These two participants continue to research and develop their stories. Their narratives do not appear in the book.

A group of local second-generation Holocaust survivors have written and published a book documenting their families’ experiences during World War II. Testaments of Courage in the Holocaust is a compilation of true stories told by the authors that describes the courage and resilience of their family members who escaped the Nazis’ final solution.

“Putting this book together was a labor of love for me – a gift to the dear friends I met when I joined a Storykeeping Workshop sponsored by the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center.” said Melanie Roher, one of the authors of the book. “When I listened to everyone’s stories during the class, I wanted to remember them, and not lose them over time. It has been a joy to work with each of my classmates, whose parents’ stories now live on these pages.”

L-R: Hella, Oma, Opa, Lore and Ilse Neuhaus

Roher lives in White Plains, NY, and she is a member of the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) GenerationsForward Speakers Bureau, a second and third generation group that includes children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors who appear at area schools, synagogues, churches, and other community events. HHREC Memory Keepers are trained speakers who tell their family’s story from their next generation perspective, adding new meaning to the survivors’ powerful stories of witness.

Other local authors whose stories appear in the book include Pat Gaston (Irvington), Tina Goldman (Ossining), Michelle Griffenberg (Tarrytown), Ziporah Janowski (Croton on the Hudson), Gloria Lazar (Tarrytown), Joan Poulin (Somers), Vivian Pronin (Hastings-on-Hudson) Helen Rubel (Irvington), Dennis Schoen (Fairlawn, NJ), and Debby Ziering (Greenwich, CT.)

Werner Satz’s German passport issued in 1938.

In the book Forward written by Lazar, she describes her experience working with fellow authors. “The personal histories in this book reflect months and years of research and reflection by a group of second and third generation descendants of Holocaust survivors, and in one case, a child Holocaust survivor. During the winter and spring of 2019 we met in a workshop each week and engaged in the arduous process of dissecting and writing our family histories. We searched through letters, diaries, photographs, audio, and video tapes – every form of record – to uncover the struggle, displacement and survival of our family members who emigrated to the United States from almost every country in Europe where Jews were hunted by the Nazis. They are remembered by daughters, sons and grandchildren determined to document the courage of these brave individuals who escaped the Nazis’ final solution. The difficult journeys taken by our families reflect the ultimate triumph of the human spirit against the inhumane efforts by the Nazis to eliminate the Jews of Europe. We honor these brave men and women whose DNA we possess and whose spirit we hope to illuminate in our stories.“

The book is available for sale on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Testaments-Courage-Holocaust-Children-Survivors/dp/B0C87SSX3L and is available for teachers to utilize in their classrooms from the HHREC Anna & Nicholas Elefant Library in White Plains.

Five contributors to the book are scheduled to appear on the HHREC Memory Keeper Story Hour Wednesday, April 10 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. For more information about HHREC GenerationsForward Memory Keepers speakers and other education programs, events and resources offered by HHREC, visit HHRECNY.org. 

Meier Janowski’s mother Chana and her brother (white beard) sitting at the head of the table, with their extended family before the war.

 

News & Photos Courtesy of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center

Hudson Valley Area Teachers and Students Attend Annual Human Rights Institute for Middle School Student Leaders

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Sheila Arnold, CEO and Lead Performer of History’s Alive

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) hosted their 9th Annual Human Rights Institute for Middle School Student Leaders on November 15th, 16th and 17th at Congregation Emanu-El of Westchester in Rye, New York. Students and teachers from 37 public and private middle schools in the Hudson Valley attended.

HHREC staff and area educators facilitated a breakout session on the themes of What does the term “human rights” mean? , What does it mean to respect human dignity? and How do we incorporate human dignity and human rights while learning to be an upstander? Students were engaged in different activities to address these vital issues, and met within groups to develop activities to implement in their schools. Students from John Jay (Cross River) High School, Bryam Hills High School, Manhattanville College – Clark Scholars and Iona University helped to facilitate the breakout sessions. The event was organized by Jeanne Claire Cotnoir and Debbie Minchin, HHREC Coordinators of Student Programming.

The Institute began with a keynote presentation by Sheila Arnold, CEO and Lead Performer of History’s Alive! Ms. Arnold has also performed as a Regional Storyteller at Colonial Williamsburg, the Valley Forge Teacher Institute, and at conferences across the U.S.

This program was developed to further the mission of the HHREC by laying the foundation to encourage students to become “upstanders rather than bystanders.” Participating schools included: Albert Leonard (New Rochelle); Anne Dorner MS (Ossining); Ardsley MS; Barack Obama School of Justice (Yonkers); Benjamin Turner (Mount Vernon); Blind Brook MS; Briarcliff MS; Denzel Washington School of the Arts (Mount Vernon); Dobbs Ferry MS; Eastchester MS; Fieldstone MS (North Rockland); Fox Lane MS (Bedford); French American School; George Fischer MS (Carmel); German International School; Henry H. Wells (Brewster); Highlands MS (White Plains); Hommocks MS (Mamaroneck); Isaac E. Young MS (New Rochelle); Mahopac MS; Newburgh (Heritage MS, Meadow Hill Gem, South MS and Temple Academy); North Salem MS; Paideia School 15 (Yonkers); Pierre Van Cortlandt MS (Croton–on-Hudson); Pleasantville MS; Port Chester MS; Robert Bell MS (Chappaqua); Rye Neck MS; Scarsdale MS; Seven Bridges MS (Chappaqua); Sleepy Hollow MS; Somers MS; St. Joseph’s School (Bronxville); and Westlake MS (Mt. Pleasant).

“We are very pleased to continue offering this important program to Hudson Valley area middle schools.” said Steve Goldberg, HHREC Director of Education. “Seventy-five years ago, the United Nations created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that enshrined the rights and freedoms of all human beings.  Our goal is to work with our education partners and their students to embrace these ideals as they become global citizens in our ever-changing world.”

HHREC Coordinator of Student
Programming Jeanne Claire Cotnoir

For more information visit the HHREC website at HHRECNY.org or contact Steve Goldberg at sgoldberg@hhrecny.org.

News and Photos Courtesy of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center

Former Armonk Resident Lisa Salko Presented 13 Driver’s Licenses at the North Castle Public Library

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PHOTOS BY MIA BROWN

Salko’s Talk Took Place on the 85th Anniversary of Kristallnacht

When she was growing up, former Armonk resident Lisa Salko knew very little about her family’s past during the Holocaust. But all that changed with a Facebook message from a German high school student named Victoria Thiel who was working on a history project.

In 2017, a small village in Germany’s Bavaria called Lichtenfels had found 13 licenses in a brown envelope in a back-room cupboard in the district office while digitizing town records. The licenses were confiscated from Jewish residents during Kristallnacht also known as the “Night of Broken Glass” in 1938 in which Nazis arrested 30,000 Jews, destroyed Jewish-owned businesses, homes and synagogues and murdered 91 Jews and injured hundreds, marking the beginning of the Holocaust.

The licenses had been there for almost 80 years. Instead of digitizing the licenses and archiving them in Bamberg as required by law because they are historical documents, the district administrator, Christian Meissner instead got in touch with history teacher Manfred Brösamle-Lambrecht who taught at the local high school.

Brösamle-Lambrecht, who is not Jewish, cared deeply about the fate of these former Jewish residents and thought it could serve as a teachable moment for his students in his History Seminar class to research what had happened to these 13 individuals, and also try to locate their descendants. And so, his students at Meranier-Gymnasium Lichtenfels embarked on a yearlong project that changed all their lives.

Salko’s grandfather, Sigmund Marx and two great uncles, Alfred Marx and Alfred Oppenheimer drivers’ licenses were among three of the 13 confiscated licenses. Salko and her two sisters happened to all be together at Lisa’s nephews’ wedding in Florida when Thiel first reached out. After months of communication back and forth, they were invited to Lichtenfels for a week to learn about the project. The trip coincided with the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht. “We went and it was extraordinary. We thought we would just hear the student’s presentation in a classroom, but it was a big deal. It was in the school’s auditorium and the entire community and press was invited to attend. The licenses were returned to us by the district administrator. “It was a life changing moment for my sisters and I.” Lisa and her sisters spent their time in Lichtenfels learning about their family history all while getting to know the students, their teacher and all the people involved in the project. Friendships were formed that continue to this day.

“It was an incredibly overwhelming and emotional week but also enlightening for my sisters and I.

On the eve of our departure, I made a promise to the German students and their teacher and said I don’t know how I am going to do this, but I am going to get this story out there and that’s what I pursued upon my return,” said Salko.

A Promise Turns into an Award-Winning Documentary

Salko got in touch with the White Plains-based Holocaust & Human Rights and Education Center (HHREC) and they put together a panel exhibit that was a replica of what the students in Lichtenfels had created. Since 2018, as a member of the HHREC’s speaker’s bureau, this journey has taken Salko to numerous synagogues, libraries, schools, Baruch College, The Museum of Jewish Heritage, the German Consulate in NY and most recently at Yad Vashem – The World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, Israel.

“We’re very happy that Yad Vashem showcased the exhibit and talk, accompanied

by our Director of Education Steve Goldberg. Lisa Salko is a strong speaker who tells the story with passion and vigor and so 13 Drivers’ Licenses has become one of the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center’s most popular exhibits,” said Millie Jasper, the Executive Director of the HHREC.

In 2020, Brösamle-Lambrecht wrote a letter to the German Consulate in New York telling them about the project and Salko’s lecture and panel exhibit which would be presented at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in NYC. The Consulate co-sponsored Lisa’s event at the museum. They were so impressed by it that they asked Salko if she’d be willing to help create video content about the project for the consulate website. Although Salko is not a filmmaker, she was committed to getting this project off the ground. “After numerous zoom meetings with the Consulate, we thought it would be a short video, maybe a few minutes long,” recalls Salko. Salko’s determination along with her ability to maintain and pursue connections were crucial to helping to turn the story into an award-winning short documentary.

In 2019, Salko presented at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale and an audience member, Elisabeth Gareis introduced herself. Gareis, who is not Jewish, grew up in Lichtenfels and is a professor of Intercultural Communications Studies at Baruch College. “She was fascinated by the story. I call her my groupie as she has seen me present so many times,” jokes Salko. At her presentation at Manhattanville College, Gareis introduced Salko to her husband, Ryoya Terao, a film technology professor at the New York City College of Technology.

Salko asked Tarrytown-based Terao if he’d be interested in working on the video content on behalf of the German Consulate. The story immediately appealed to him. “We wanted to tell a different kind of story from other Holocaust-related films – something that is hopeful for the future,” said Terao. Then the pandemic hit. As fate has it, Gareis and Terao were quarantining in Lichtenfels to stay with Gareis’ elderly mother who still lived there. With the help of Brösamle-Lambrecht, they were able to track down the students who were now in university and began filming them. Salko served as a consultant on the film.

Tarrytown-based Terao had never filmed a documentary about the Holocaust, but he has created many short films focused on human rights. At press time, the 27-minute long short documentary, 13 Drivers Licenses, has appeared in 37 film festivals in 17 countries (including the U.S.) and has won 28 awards. It was just selected to be a part of the United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAAF) in late October in San Francisco. Terao is working on a longer feature length documentary with many of the Holocaust survivors and their descendants who were interviewed.

Screening in Armonk

The short documentary 13 Drivers’ Licenses was also viewed while we were in press on November 9th at the North Castle Public Library’s Whippoorwill Hall. “Since it was in Armonk where I raised my family, I viewed this as a homecoming in a way,” explains Salko. It also coincided with the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht and the fifth anniversary of when Salko first traveled to Lichtenfels.

“You can’t hold today’s generation responsible for what their ancestors did,” said Salko. “I talk about reconciliation a lot – meeting these students and what they did for our family was a gift. They helped fill in our family’s puzzle.”

Prior to her trip, Salko did not consider herself an activist. But she believes the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA in 2017 and the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh 10 days before her trip to Germany propelled her to speak out against antisemitism. These events coupled with the fact that there is no nationwide mandate for Holocaust education were catalysts for her dedicating herself to Holocaust education.

“I will tell this story to whoever will listen to me. We live in a world where words of hatred have become commonplace and accepted. It was words of hatred that ignited the Holocaust. As we get further removed from it, as the survivor community continues to diminish in numbers and antisemitism, Holocaust denial and distortion is on the rise, we must stand up, speak out, and most importantly tell survivor stories so this never happens again.”

“This high school project from a small Bavarian town in Germany is now used by educators as a teaching tool worldwide,” she says proudly, thanks to her presentation at Yad Vashem and her unwavering commitment to sharing the 13 Driver’s Licenses story.