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	THE LEGACY HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL - MIAMI BEACH NEWSLETTER
TISHRAY 5762 - SEPTEMBER 2001

CHRISTIANS GATHER AT THE HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL
On June 4, 2001 a gathering of 500 Christian members of the All Americas Convocation and survivors of the SS St. Louis met together at the Holocaust Memorial for a Memorial service. The All Americas Convocation met in southern Florida to show solidarity with Jews and to apologize for the Holocaust. The gathering represented the latest gesture by a Christian group to seek atonement for the Holocaust. David Schaecter, a founding member of the Holocaust Memorial and a Holocaust Survivor, was one of the guest speakers. He urged the group "It´s extremely important that the world not forget about the darkest, most horrible period in the history of mankind." Mr. Schaecter and other survivors in attendance at the Memorial service were greatly moved by the display of sincere friendship and solidarity.	Photo courtesy of the Miami Herald
Miki Arbel, Consul General of Israel to Florida and Puerto Rico, spoke at the Memorial service, and received an overwhelming reception when he reassured everyone that Jerusalem would always remain the undivided capital of Israel. He promised to forward the importance of this event to the government and people of Israel.

EDUCATION DIRECTOR´S REPORT
Beginning August 23, 2001 the University of Miami School of Education is offering a course called "Seminar in the Teaching and Study of the Holocaust". This university course, sponsored by the Sue & Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies, is co-facilitated by our Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff along with Dr. Gideon Grief, scholar in residence from Yad Vashem Israel, and Dr. Anita Myer Meinbach. It is noteworthy that this is the first course being taught on the Holocaust for teacher credit at the university level in the State of Florida. Our Education Director will begin her weekly schedule of attending schools around the county, and giving workshops to teachers on how to teach the Holocaust. We will also be cooperating with the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida on a special program on "Teaching the Holocaust Through Literature and Reading". Our Lecture Series this year will be attended by many of the public school teachers and their students who will be given extra credit in their classroom for attendance. Dr. Kassenoff has also made it a priority goal to have special training sessions and seminars specifically for the Principals and Administrators of the Miami Dade County Public Schools on the topic of the history of the Holocaust and how it should be taught. Special Education Project: The Holocaust Education Study Tour. The Southern Holocaust Organizations (SHO) is planning a trip to Eastern Europe for educators. The proposed date for the tour is July 2002 and will be open to all educator applicants K-12. If any teacher is interested in this trip, please contact Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff, Chairperson of Southern Holocaust Organizations (SHO) at 305-538-1663. Thanks to the support of the David & Regina Weinberg Family Foundation, the Holocaust Memorial is proud to be active in training teachers in Miami Dade County on how to teach the Holocaust in their classrooms. On November 2, 2001, approximately 100 Miami-Dade County Public School Teachers will attend the seminar: Teaching the Holocaust through History, Film and Art, facilitated by Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff. This Seminar is hosted by the Dave & Mary Alper JCC and co-sponsored by the Holocaust Memorial as part of the Miami Jewish Book Fair. In additional, plans are still underway to offer the 2001/2002 Holocaust Memorial Academic Year Teacher -Training Institute, hosted by the Holocaust Memorial. Yad Vashem, Israel scholars and materials will be key to this training seminar. Details will be announced.
OUTREACH TO HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS
The Holocaust Memorial has been coordinating its efforts with the Jewish Community Services (JCS) in reaching Holocaust Survivors who are in great need of support. The Memorial´s volunteers were the first group of volunteers to join this program and are completing the process and training of becoming "friendly visitors". In addition the Holocaust Memorial Committee was instrumental in providing additional funds to help our local Holocaust Survivors who are in great need of help. The Holocaust Memorial Committee, along with Survivor Organizations, have made initial steps to assist these survivors who desperately need our help. If you wish to join this special group of volunteers, please call Barbara Davis, Volunteer Coordinator at (JCS) Jewish Community Services: 305-932-4200 ext 114.
RIGHTEOUS AMONG NATIONS AWARD
In 1941 twenty one year old Alicja Szymanska, was living in Warsaw under Nazi occupation. At such a young age, and under most difficult circumstances, she faced one of her most difficult decision of her young life. She had to choose between turning over a 3 year old Jewish girl to the Gestapo, as she was ordered, or face punishment by death. This young Polish lady made a decision, despite the danger that she and her family were facing and took under her wings and protection this little Jewish girl. Sixty years later the State of Israel has decided to award her the medal and certificate honoring her as one of the Righteous Among Nations.	L-R: Avi Mizrachi, Director Holocaust Memorial, Alicja Zymanska, and Deputy Consul General Haim Regev.
On June 29, 2001, the Deputy Consul of Israel, Mr. Haim Regev, and the Director of the Memorial went to Mrs. Szymanska´s home in Delray Beach to present her with this honor on behalf of the state of Israel. Mrs. Alicja Szymanska will be honored at the Krystallnacht Commemoration at the Holocaust Memorial on November 8, 2001.

2ND THURSDAYS PROGRAMS

In June 2001 the Holocaust Memorial joined the City of Miami Beach "2nd Thursdays" program, which offers the residents and visitors of Miami Beach a unique way to experience different cultural aspects of our community. As part of this program the Holocaust Memorial is offering free to the public a one hour tour at 6 & 7 pm every 2nd Thursday. At this time, this tour is given by the Memorial Director, but we are planning on training a special docent for this unique program. On Thursday, September the 13th we were invited to the Jackie Gleason Theater to attend the Invitation to the Arts, where various community arts organizations can present and share information. This will be the opening event that will kick off the beginning of this years´ City of Miami Beach "2nd Thursdays" program.

E-MAIL:

To whom it may concern, Last Saturday my girlfriend and I visited the Holocaust Memorial. It was the first time that either one of us had ever gone, although we know people who had been there in the past, such as her mother, who highly recommended that we see it. After having gone, I felt moved enough to sit down and write you regarding my experience there. I am not Jewish, so therefore my perspective on the Holocaust, as such, would not be the same as I'm sure it would for one who actually lost family and/or friends alike. At the same time, I don't believe that you have to be Jewish to be moved or saddened by what happened all those years ago. Like many people, I saw Schindler's List and was moved to tears at more than one point in the movie, but I must tell you that nothing prepared me for the profound way in which I was moved by the sculpture that is the focal point of the memorial. Without a doubt, as I told my girlfriend afterwards in the parking lot, it was the single most powerful thing that I have ever witnessed. Upon seeing the true depth and scope of the sculpture up close, I immediately burst into tears. It was such that I almost turned around and walked out, it was that powerful. The looks on the faces of the people were absolutely haunting, conveying that sense of total fear and desperation that those who perished at the hands of the Nazis must have felt. Even now, it has the power to move me to tears at the mere thought. And that, I suppose, is the greatest gift that I took with me upon leaving the Memorial. I keep hearing the words "never again" over and over in my head. Never again should this kind of madness be allowed to take place at any time, and you've driven home that message loud and clear. Thank you so much for an experience that I will never forget. Sincerely, Nick Stefanow [e-mailed to info@holocaustmmb.org April, 2001]

FEATURED SPEAKERS: 2001/2002 WINTER LECTURE SERIES

The 2001/2002 Winter Lecture Series will be inaugurated with a lecture featuring one of the leading Holocaust Scholars, Dr. Nehama Tec, who will speak on her book titled "Defiance: The Bielski Partisans: The story of the Largest Armed Rescue of Jews by Jews During World War II." Dr. Nehama Tec is a scholar, a writer, and a Holocaust survivor who has, as a professor at the University of Connecticut devoted the last two decades to the study of the fate of European Jewry, recording rare examples of human compassion, resistance, rescue, altruism and heroism in the face of horror and despair. Dr. Tec is the author of six books and the winner of the 1990 Christopher award for "Dry Tears" and the book "When Light Pierced the Darkness". Her most recent book is "The Puzzle of Gender and the Holocaust." In January we´ll host Dr. Robert Van Pelt, who is the expert witness and historian during the trial of Dr. Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin Press versus Holocaust denier, David Irving. His lecture will examine how we know what we know about the Holocaust and his experiences during the trial. Dr. Michael Berenbaum will be revisiting our Lecture Series in February. Dr. Berenbaum is a prolific writer and speaker on the Holocaust and will be outlining the Nazi plan for the "Final Solution" as planned during the Wannsee Conference(?). His presentation is based on his most recent, Emmy nominated HBO production: "Conspiracy." Dr. Berenbaum is also the author of "The World Must Know," a majestic and profoundly moving history of the Holocaust. He was the Director of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. In March, Thane Rosenbaum, Esq., who grew up in Miami Beach and graduated from Miami Beach High School and the University of Miami Law School, is now a novelist of a well received post Holocaust trilogy. "The Golems of Gotham," the last of the three novels, which include "Second Hand Smoke" and "Elijah Visible", is a whimsical story set in New York City and Miami Beach. His lecture will be on the themes of reconciliation and renewal in this new millennium with the Holocaust forever in the background. He is a law professor at Fordham Law School, where he teaches courses in human rights and law and literature. Books & Books, located on Lincoln Road will be organizing and providing the authors´ books for each lecture. The Lecturer/Author will be available for signing books during the reception after each lecture.

VOLUNTEER PROFILE: JOE DZIUBAK

I was born in Lodz, Poland in 1925. When the Germans invaded Poland in 1939, I was 14 years old; immediately the Germans closed the public school that I attended and in the next few months they rounded up all the Jews living in the small towns around Lodz and created the Lodz Ghetto. My family lived in the Ghetto until 1944 when the ghetto was liquidated. Together with my family we were taken to Auschwitz-Birkenow, and that was the last time I ever saw my family. I was liberated from Buchenwald concentration camp (Germany) on April 11, 1945. Together with other children we stayed in France for two years in a rehabilitation center operated by the OSE. I arrived in the United States in 1947 and after a few months in New York City moved to Florida, my residence ever since. In 1950 I was drafted to the US Army and sent back to Germany as a Regimental Interpreter during the beginning of the Korean War. I have been a volunteer at the Holocaust Memorial since it was opened in 1990. As a volunteer and a Holocaust Survivor, I speak to many of the visitors and to the students groups that visit the Memorial throughout the year. At first I started by just coming to the Memorial and helping in the information office. Then I started speaking to the children and other visitors and now I am sharing my story sometimes several times a week. While it is still difficult for me to speak about my experience during the Holocaust, I feel an obligation to do it for the younger generation. The Holocaust Memorial is very important to me and to many survivors who lost their families and loved ones. It is the only place I have to honor and remember my mother, father , brothers and sisters, whose names are engraved on the Memorial Wall.

21ST ANNUAL JEWISH BOOK FAIR

Together with the Dave and Mary Alper JCC the Holocaust Memorial is proud to co-sponsor a special evening lecture with Edwin Black, author of IBM and the Holocaust: the Strategic Alliance between Nazi Germany and America´s Most Powerful Corporation. The book is examining the role of the IBM corporation before and during the Holocaust and its role in being instrumental in Hitler´s successes identifying 10 million European Jews and killing 6 million. This lecture and book signing is part of the 21st Annual Jewish Book Fair and will take place at Temple Beth Am on Wednesday, October 24, 2001 at 8 pm. General admission is $5 and reserve seating is $10. For more information call Marcy Levitt at the Alper JCC in South Miami Dade at 305-271-9000 ext 269.

YOM HASHOAH MENORAH DEDICATION

In a joint effort between Father Patrick H. O´Neill, of Archdiocese of Miami, and Rabbi Solomon Schiff, Executive Vice President of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami, we were invited on May 1, 2001 to the Archdiocese of Miami for a very moving dedication. The Theme of the ceremony was "Forgiveness and Reconciliation". The menorah was a replica of a menorah which was dedicated to Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. This dedication, represented the recent efforts by Pope John Paul II and the Catholic church to create a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation between Christians and Jews. Guest speakers at this ceremony were Mr. Norman Braman, President of the Holocaust Memorial, Rabbi Solomon Schiff, Msgr. Bryan Walsh, of the Archdiocese of Miami, and Archbishop John Clement Favalora. The program concluded with the lighting of the menorah candles by Holocaust Survivors and community leaders. The dedication of the menorah in Miami strongly reaffirms the following words: "God of our fathers, You chose Abraham and his descendants to bring your name to the Nations. We are deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have cause these children of yours to suffer, and asking your forgiveness, We wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant." — Pope John Paul II at Yad Vashem, Israel, March 2000.

COMMUNITY & BAR MITZVAH PROJECT

The volunteers to the Holocaust Memorial are usually survivors of the Holocaust and well into their senior years. This summer a new volunteer joined the ranks. As a project for his Bar Mitzvah, 13 year old Oren Levy, son of Isaac & Madelyn Levy of Broward County and a student at Sinai Academy, volunteered a full day once a week at the Holocaust Memorial during his summer vacation. During this time he helped the staff with various projects, such as collecting and organizing newspaper articles about the Memorial collected over the last decade. In addition for his schooling he wrote several reports on the Holocaust Memorial and interviewed survivors/volunteers. We wish to express our sincere appreciation for choosing the Holocaust Memorial as the place to do one of his Bar Mitzvah year projects. We hope that many young students like him will follow.

VOLUNTEERS VISIT THE ZIFF JEWISH MUSEUM OF FLORIDA

The Stanford L. Ziff Jewish Museum of Florida graciously invited all the volunteers of the Holocaust Memorial to a guided tour of the Jewish Museum of Florida in June 2001. Various mutual efforts, such as this, have been made to strengthen the relationship between the Museum and the Memorial. Many visitors to the Holocaust Memorial coordinate their visit with a visit to the Museum, both located on South Beach. The Jewish Museum of Florida, at 301 Washington Avenue, currently is displaying the exhibit "The Art of Hatred: Images of Intolerance in Florida Culture." Such exhibits link to issues that are important to the Holocaust Memorial and its volunteers. We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to Marsha Zerevitz, Executive Director, and the two excellent guides that accompanied us, Mina Lev-Drewes, Director of Education, and Leo Schneider, museum volunteer and Holocaust Survivor. The goal in the next couple of years is to increase efforts to train and recruit new volunteers for the Holocaust Memorial. Plans are underway to visit the Florida Holocaust Museum located in St. Petersburg, FL in the beginning of 2002.

IN THE MAIL

Mr. & Mrs. Jack Gunz, volunteers at the Holocaust Memorial, were surprised and pleased to received this special greeting card from the President of the United States for their 50th wedding anniversary.

ENDOWMENT CAMPAIGN

The Holocaust Memorial Committee has succeeded in the past 10 years to establish the Memorial as a center for the South Florida Holocaust Survivors, the Jewish community and the community at large. Through Cultural and Educational Programs the important lessons of the Holocaust are passed on to the next generation. To secure its future, the Holocaust Memorial Committee has launched an Endowment Fund Drive. Commitments by a wide range of individuals were made in the form of bequests, insurance policies, gift annuities, and cash contributions. Administrated by the Foundation of Jewish Philanthropies (FJP) of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, to reach the goal of $5 million. Interested participants should first talk to their financial advisor about the options of a planned gift or a direct cash contribution. Call us to find out how you can participate in establishing the Holocaust Memorial Endowment. The Holocaust Memorial Committee, wishes to express their gratitude and appreciation to all the Friends of the Holocaust Memorial who diligently show their support for the Cultural and Educational Programs at the Holocaust Memorial.

GOVERNMENT GRANTS

This year the Holocaust Memorial of Miami Beach has been the proud recipients of several prominent grants that will help us provide a year of highest quality cultural and educational programs for the community. The Holocaust Memorial Committee, staff, and volunteers wish to express our thanks for the generous support from: the State of Florida Legislature, Florida Department of Cultural Affairs; the Miami Dade County Cultural Affairs; and Gwen Margolis, Chairwoman, of Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council. And a special thanks to the City of Miami Beach Mayor and Commissioners. Special thanks to Harry B. Smith, Esq. for his hard work and commitment to secure the grant we have received from the State of Florida.