Special Anniversary Issue
First GSI Newsletter
November 2002
gsi@genshoah.org
www.genshoah.org

We would like to bring you up to date on developments with Generations of the Shoah International. GSI began with leaders of 7 groups from around the US. Our idea was to share resources and ideas and work together to help each other with program ideas, information sharing, etc. GSI has grown tremendously in recent weeks. We now have connections in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC and Wisconsin. True to our “international” name, we have members as far away as Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico. And yes, we have delved into cyberspace onto Internet groups. Some people have joined us as individuals and in some cases groups have linked up with us. Our growth has truly been phenomenal. Thank you for having faith in us and making this happen.

In addition to networking, GSI also offers those who are interested an opportunity to participate in committees dealing with various topics. You have expressed interest in committees on commemoration, reparations, speakers bureau, emotional health, and program ideas. If anyone is interested in participating on a committee, or introducing a new committee idea that they would like to work with, please e-mail GSI. gsi@imeg.com.

The following news and programming information is presented as a public service. We are providing you the resources to find out more about those topics that are of interest to you, your group or your community. We offer the information without commentary but we will cite the source of the information. We make no claims / assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies in the information.

CURRENT NEWS
Reparations to former slave-labor workers in Warsaw and Czestochowa. Interested persons should contact the Hojgaard & Schultz Foundation for Former Forced Laborers by e-mail at hda@jblaw.dk. To check if your family member was in slave labor in Czestochowa, check the list of surnames at
http://www.kazez.com/~dan/Czesto-Rad/Czesto-Surv.html
For further information on lists go to
http://www.jewishinstitute.org.pl/
http://www.rslfoundation.org/html/ourwork/ourwork.htm
http://www.kazez.com/~dan/Czesto-Rad/CzestoForced-suv.html
Source: the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Spielberg Jewish Film Archive Goes Online.
The Spielberg Archive of the Hebrew University has the world’s largest collection of Jewish documentary films, including films on the Holocaust. www.spielbergfilmarchive.org.il
Confirmation: Sue Spielberg

COMING EVENTS
There has been a change in plans, and the Survivor Gathering in August 2003 that was to be part of the celebration of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s 10th anniversary will not be held. Instead, a weekend celebration at the Museum honoring Survivors and their descendants will take place later in 2003. We will provide further information on this event as we receive it.
Source: Martin Goldman, USHMM Office of Survivor Affairs: Mgoldman@ushmm.org.

December 8, 2002: 2 p.m. --- New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ. The Carolyn Dorfman (2G) Dance Company will be performing “Mayne Mentshn” (My People) depicting “the Jewish Journey” from the Holocaust to immigration to assimilation into American Life. For more information: www.njpac.org or http://www.carolyndorfmandanceco.org/.

December 15, 2002: 2-5 p.m. --- US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC. Natan Kellerman, Head of AMCHA [Israel] will speak on “Intergenerational Transmission of Holocaust Trauma.” That program will run from 2-4 p.m. followed immediately by Annette Insdorf, author of Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust. [3rd edition] Dr. Insdorf will meet with children and grandchildren of survivors to discuss her book and current films in a program with the DC group The Generation After. Books available for sale / signing.
Source: Martin Goldman, USHMM Office of Survivor Affairs: Mgoldman@ushmm.org.

December 15, 2002: 7:30 p.m. --- UWM Theater Building, Milwaukee, WI. “The Summer of Aviya,” a one woman autobiographical play performed by Gila Almagor, first lady of Israeli stage and child of survivors. This performance is presented by the Holocaust Education and Resource Center and the Israel Center. Tickets: 414-229-4308.
Source: Sandy Hoffman.

December 17, 2002: 7 p.m. --- Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, Los Angeles, CA. “Evening With the Author” with Petru Popescu. His latest book, Oasis, is the story of his wife’s parents and how they met and fell in love in Auschwitz. Oasis was just nominated as a finalist for the 2002 National Jewish Book Award. There is a $5 admission fee. Books available for sale and signing. For more info e-mail: kfire413@aol.com.

December 22, 2002: 3 p.m. matinee. Frannie Sheridan will be performing in Baltimore. Her program is entitled “I Tried to be Normal.” Ms. Sheridan is the child of Jews who settled in Canada and posed as Catholics after fleeing the Nazis. Sponsored by the Baltimore Jewish Council’s Holocaust Programs & The Holocaust Survivors Social Club. RSVP 410-542-4850. $10. group ticket price. For more information: ssalz@comcast.net.

January 12, 2003: 1-2:30 p.m. --- Jurys Washington Hotel, Washington, DC. As part of the Association of Holocaust Organizations, Dr. Steve Salzberg and Professor Esther Finder will be discussing issues related to the trauma of the Holocaust on Survivors and their children. Confirmation: Warren Marcus, Director, Teacher Workshops & Conferences, Division of Education, USHMM. For more info: WMarcus@ushmm.org.

January 18, 19, 2003: Baltimore JCC. Deb Filler [2G] will be performing “Punch Me in the Stomach”. For more information, go to www.gordoncenter.com.

May 4, 2003: The New Jersey Commission of Holocaust Education will host a Yom Hashoah program to honor Survivors and their families at the War Memorial in Trenton. Invited guests include Elie Wiesel and Steven Spielberg and others. For more information: bwind@ujfmetrowest.org.

ADDITIONAL PROGRAM SUGGESTIONS
Finally, we would like to share some ideas for programs that have worked in the past. This submission is from The Generation After in Washington, DC.

• We wanted to do something to dispel the “sheep to the slaughter” image so we invited Jewish refugees from the Reich who went back to fight. We had a panel that included a British Commando, an American GI who went on to work at the Nuremberg Trials and an American spy who secured the peaceful surrender of Innsbruck, Austria. Books by / about our guests:
  Striking Back. A Jewish Commando’s War Against the Nazis by Peter Masters.
  OSS in Hitler’s Heartland by Gerald Schwab.
  [See also, Piercing the Reich by Joseph Persico.]
• Also, our high school students in Maryland and DC have a mandatory community service requirement for high school graduation. We encourage our 3Gs [grandchildren of survivors] to do their community service in some Holocaust-related area. Some work at the USHMM, others worked with Jewish Social Services, etc. In addition to helping the kids learn more about their family history, this has the added bonus of making their college applications stand out.

Feel free to share this newsletter with Holocaust Survivor Families. To submit program information, contact us at gsi@imeg.com.

Happy Thanksgiving and
Happy Hanukkah from all of us to all of you.

GSI Founders

Esther Finder [The Generation After, DC], Klaire Firestone [Second Generation LA, CA], Sandy Hoffman [Generation After, WI], Dina Cohen [Generations of the Shoah, NJ], Steve Salzberg [Holocaust Remembrance Cmte. Baltimore, MD], Bonnie Stein [Generations After, FL] and Sabina Cohen [CHAIM, MN].