#yadvashemusa

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Holocaust survivor Leslie Kleinman z”l was born in 1929 in Ambud, Transylvania. When Leslie was 14, the Nazis invaded the region, arriving in his hometown on a Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. A German soldier cut off his father’s beard, which was a terrible insult and humiliation for a religious man. That spring, Leslie and his family were forced to live in the ghetto before being deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. They arrived at the camp on Leslie’s 15th birthday and he was selected for work, while the rest of his family, except for one sister, was taken straight to the gas chambers. Leslie spent months building a railway before being sent on a death march to the Sachsenhausen and Flossenbürg concentration camps. From there, the remaining prisoners were sent on a second death march, during which they were liberated by American troops. While recuperating at a monastery, Leslie learned that his sister Gitta had died shortly after liberation. He was then told that the British government was allowing over 700 teenage survivors into the UK. Leslie was one of this group, which became known as ‘The Boys.’ He went on to marry, build a family, and create a new life. In 2011, Leslie returned to Auschwitz for the first time and continued to return year after year with students from across the globe. 

 May his memory forever be a blessing. 

: @jroots_journeys

#yadvashem #yadvashemusa #holocaustsurvivor

American Society for Yad Vashem

[yuval-david]

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A post shared by Yuval David (@yuval_david_)

Over 6 million Jews were killed as the primary targets of genocide and eradication in the hands of the Nazis and in the hands of those supported the Nazis actively or quietly. Over 6 million documented Jews were killed. My grandparents are survivors and heroes of the Holocaust, the Shoah. The vast majority of my grandparents’ family and friends and communities were killed along with the more than two-thirds of European Jews who were brutally eradicated by the Nazis and their collaborators. 75 Years ago, Nazis fled Auschwitz, one of the main killing centers of the Nazi war machine. While the Nazis were losing the war, they continued to kill Jews as a primary focus of their agenda. As the Nazis fled many of the concentration and death camps, they took many of the remaining Jewish prisoners on death marches, if they could walk, my grandfather was among these prisoners on the death march. The tortures continued as the Nazi machine continued after Auschwitz and other camps were liberated by the Americans, Russians, and allied forces. I understand the gift of life that I have, because I am descended from those who were lucky to survive the horrors of where Anti-Jewish rhetoric and actions can lead. I will always stand up, with my voice and actions, against Anti-Jewish attacks and against any hate-filled attacks agains others. I do so in honor of my grandparents, the other survivors, and in honor of the millions of documented and undocumented who were tortured, brutalized, attacked, and killed. #auschwitz #auschwitzbirkenau #auschwitzconcentrationcamp #auschwitzmemorial #auschwitz75 #shoah #shoahfoundation #holocaust #holocaustremembranceday #holocaustmemorial #holocaustsurvivor #holocaustmemorialday #thirdgeneration #grandchildofsurvivors #shoahmemorial #yadvashem @uscshoahfoundation @yadvashem @yadvashemusa @holocaustmuseum @auschwitzmemorial (at Auschwitz Memorial / Muzeum Auschwitz) https://www.instagram.com/p/B74JL7HBo96/?igshid=i6q223b8rkil

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Holocaust survivor Matys Finkelstein z’l  holding his grandson.

Finkelstein was born in Kielce, Poland. He was a prisoner of both Auschwitz and Kaufering, one of the subcamps of Dachau. Matys was liberated while on a death march to the Allach concentration camp. The day of his liberation was May 2nd, his birthday. The ink on Matys’s arm tells a story of suffering and death, but the child in his arms tells one of triumph and rebirth.

: @bengoodmannyc (Matys’s grandson)

#yadvashem #yadvashemusa #holocaustsurvivor

American Society for Yad Vashem

[girlactionfigure]

Did you see yesterday’s @Google Doodle? It celebrates the 138th birthday of Rudolf Weigl, a Polish biologist and the inventor of the first effective vaccine against typhus. But that’s not all… Weigl also holds the title of Righteous Among the Nations. Before the war, Rudolf Weigl had been a professor of biology at the University of Lwów (today L’viv). During WWII, his work attracted the attention of the Nazis, who ordered him to set up a vaccine production plant. He employed some of his Jewish friends in an attempt to protect them, and gave shelter to a number of Jewish scientists in his institute. He also organized the smuggling of large quantities of the typhus vaccine from distant Lwów to the Warsaw ghetto, thereby saving many of the inhabitants from the disease.

 In 2003, @YadVashem recognized Rudolf Weigl as Righteous Among the Nations. 

: @narodowe_archiwum_cyfrowe#yadvashem #yadvashemusa #googledoodle

American Society for Yad Vashem

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In honor of #WorldBalletDay, we’re sharing the story of one of the world’s most talented prima ballerinas. Franceska Mann was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1917. Before the war, she was a regular performer at Warsaw’s famous Melody Palace nightclub and in 1939, she placed 4th at the Brussels International Dance Competition. But, the dancer’s prominence did not change the fact that she was Jewish. Imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto, Mann managed to escape to the “Aryan” side before the ghetto was liquidated in the spring of 1943. In order to lure Jews out of hiding, the Nazis spread rumors that documents from neutral South American countries were being sold at the Hotel Polski. Many Jews came out of hiding and gathered at the Hotel Polski, where they were told they would soon be able to leave Europe safely. Instead, these individuals were sent to concentration camps. Mann was one of 1,700 Jews who were first sent to Bergen-Belsen and then, on October 23rd, to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Upon arrival, the Jews were told they were there to be “disinfected” before crossing the border into Switzerland. In reality, they were being sent to the gas chambers. When the women were taken to the “undressing” room, Franceska took the pistol from an SS officer and shot and killed him. Accounts of what happened next vary, but Franceska and all of the women in the room were murdered. The event is regarded as one of the most revered acts of resistance and Franceska Mann will always be remembered for her fierce courage in the face of evil.

: Foto Forbert Studio, Warsaw

American Society for Yad Vashem

#yadvashem #yadvashemusa #balletdancer

[girlactionfigure]

Did you know that iconic handbag  designer Judith Leiber (@judithlieberny) was a Holocaust survivor?

Leiber (née Peto) was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1921 and became the first master craftswoman in the Hungarian Handbag Guild. During the war, the Peto family managed to obtain a Schutzpass (Swiss Pass), allowing them to live in a Swiss-protected building until they were herded into the Budapest Ghetto in late 1944. Hiding in a cellar with 60 others, Judith got through the misery by designing handbags in her head. After the war, she married American GI Gerson Leiber and together they moved to New York. Leiber dove into the fashion world, eventually starting her own brand and company with her husband. She designed bags for numerous celebrities, including six First Ladies, Queen Elizabeth II, and Elizabeth Taylor. 

 Her dazzling handbags are a staple on any red carpet. In April 2018, Judith and Gerson passed away within hours of one another. The night before they died, Gerson told his wife, “Sweetie, it’s time for us both to go.” Together, they left their mark on this world and their legacy will not be forgotten.

: Gordon Munro/Leiber Collection.

#yadvashemusa #yadvashem #holocaustsurvivor 

Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors

[yuval-david]

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As a grandchild of Holocaust survivors and heroes, Yad Vashem has had an important place in my heart and in my life for as long as I can remember. It is my honor to support and be involved with @yadvashem and @yadvashemusa . Three generations have come into being since the end of World War II. The generation that lived through the Holocaust is dwindling. The presence of witnesses – the remnant who survived – has always ensured a certain moral strength; their increasing absence creates a moral, cultural and educational vacuum. How will Holocaust commemoration remain relevant to members of the fourth and fifth generations, both Jewish and non-Jewish? What place will it occupy when the survivor generation is no longer with us? Will remembrance be meaningful in the context of contemporary events? How should we prepare ourselves at this historic juncture? In the spirit of the Jewish tradition of "Vehigadeta Lebincha" ("And you shall tell your children"), Yad Vashem places great emphasis on educating the younger generations about the Holocaust. Despite – or perhaps because of – the breakdown of borders and boundaries, today, more than ever before, young people are expressing a keen interest in their own personal history and identity. Yad Vashem is addressing this need by harnessing technology and constantly expanding the horizons of communication to perpetuate the dialogue between past, present and future. Yad Vashem is a pioneer of Holocaust museums worldwide. By preserving its Jewish character within the universal context, and yet maintaining the authentic individual voice emanating from testimonies, diaries, artifacts and other documentation, Yad Vashem continues to pave the way for a brighter future. #YuvalDavid #YadVashem #yadvashemusa #shoah #holocaust #holocaustsurvivor #holocaustremembrance #holocaustsurvivors #holocaustmuseum #jewishactor #jewishfilmmaker #wearestillhere #jewish #survivor #thirdgenerationsurvivor #neverforget #jewishandproud #amisraelchai (at Manhattan, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8zztKIByPX/?igshid=60ql9lhzrixa

[yuval-david]

Tonight I am speaking at an international event (on Zoom) with The Shoah Foundation @uscshoahfoundation With @stephensmithusc @stevenspielbergfans I am a grandchild of Holocaust survivors. Their story of trauma, heroism, and survival is woven into my family narrative and affected so many elements of our lives. Tonight I speak as a 3rd Generation. I carry on their story of survival and heroism and share it with others. I must live as best I can in honor of my grandparents, and in honor of almost their entire families and friends who were killed by the Nazis and the Nazi sympathizers. . . . . . . . . #YuvalDavid #ShoahFoundation #Shoah #holocaust #shoahsurvivor #holocaustsurvivor #testimony #testimonies #lastchancecollection #jewishhistory #ashkenazi #neveragain #3rdgeneration #3g #jewish #stevenspielberg #legacy #familytrauma #epigenetics #nazi #antijewish #antisemitism #stophate #shoah #jewishactor #jewishfilmmaker #jewishdirector #jewishspeaker #neverforget @adl_national @jnfusa @israelinusa @israelinnewyork @yadvashemusa @yadvashem @sashaspielberg (at USC Shoah Foundation) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEIUvLIhmOi/?igshid=cfc5uh9rcoi2