Holocaust and Jewish Resistance
Teachers' Program

The 2012 Alumni Conference will be from February 17–20, 2012. It will be held again this year at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. located at 1127 Connecticut Ave NW. A block of rooms has been reserved at a special rate for our group under the name "American Gathering." You need to make your own hotel reservations, however. The phone number for reservations is: 800-468-3571 or 202-347-3000. Please see the attached letter for more information.

We are assembling an extraordinary program, including a stimulating film and discussion on Friday evening, dinner speeches by historian Robert jan Van Pelt, and Shoah chairman Stephen Smith, presentations by the Shoah Foundation's Sherry Bard and Sheila Hansen of their IWitness program, a workshop with Alexandra Zapruder (Salvaged Pages) and Peter Feigl, one of her diarists, artifacts study by Suzy Snyder of the USHMM, and personal reflections from Menachem Rosensaft, a member of the second generation who was born in Bergen Belsen DP camp. The details of the full agenda will be posted here soon.

On February 12–15, 2010, our alumni met at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. for a celebration of the 25th anniversary of our seminar. Begun in 1985 with teachers who hailed from the east coast primarily, the HAJRTP has gone on to become the premier Holocaust education program in the United States, and has spawned many similar programs all over the world

Brian Davis '08, Elaine Culbertson '88, and
Jennifer Goss '09 at the opening ceremony.

Based on an extraordinary true story, Defiance is an epic tale of family, honor, vengeance and salvation in World War II. The year is 1941 and the Jews of Eastern Europe are being massacred by the thousands. Managing to escape certain death, the three Bielski brothers take refuge in the dense surrounding woods they have known since childhood. There they begin their desperate battle against the Nazis. The brothers turn, a primitive struggle to survive into something far more consequential—a way to avenge the deaths of their loved ones by saving thousands of others.

At first it is all they can do to stay alive. But gradually, as whispers of their daring spreads, they begin to attract others - men and women, young and old—willing to risk everything for the sake of even a moment's freedom. The oldest brother, Tuvia, is a reluctant leader and his decisions are challenged by his brother, Zus who worries that Tuvia's idealistic plans will doom them all. Asael is the youngest—caught between his brothers' fierce rivalry. As a brutal winter descends, they work to create a community, and to keep faith alive when all humanity appeared to be lost.

Roman Kent, Chairman of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, brought warm greetings to the Alumni. Roman told the Alumni, "As I speak to you today, you should know that I do not speak to you as a historian, as an educator, or as a teacher—but as a parent, a survivor and a grandparent.  I feel humble, so very humble, in the presence of all of you who are so totally and emotionally dedicated day in and day out to the teaching of the Holocaust and the Jewish resistance." Roman Kent's complete remarks can be read here.

Viewing the film Defiance together and then hearing from the screenwriter Clay Frohmann, (seen above in his role as an extra in the film) working with Mitch Braff and the vast array of educational materials on Defiance from the Jewish Partisans Educational Foundation, and hearing the eyewitness testimony of a member of the Bielski Brigade, our own Sam Bloch, was the opportunity to experience that kind of synergy that comes very infrequently.

Sunday morning's agenda began with Menachem Rosensaft, a son of survivors, speaking on the Nuremburg trials. The inclusion of his mother's testimony was a particularly compelling moment in a well documented and well-researched presentation. Mr. Rosensaft is Adjunct Professor of Law at Cornell Law School. He is the Founding Chairman of the International Network of Children of Jewish Survivors, and a leader of the Second Generation movement of children of survivors.

Sam Bloch, President, American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants spoke on The Bielski Brigade. Sam told the alumni, "I was in the Bielski brigade! And everything in the film Defiance is the truth, down to the trees, the bushes, the swamps. The things we experienced, the emotions we felt, the terror and the hope. It’s all true.” He also said that now " the world will know that Tuvia Bielski was one of the great heroes of World War II!"

Our teachers were overwhelmed by the screening of As Seen Through These Eyes, and the chance to share ideas with the film's producer Hilary Helstein. There was a stunned silence at the end of the film as we reacted to the powerful images and interviews with artists that Hilary had so skillfully amassed. Ms. Helstein is the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival. She directed and produced over 200 segments and interviews for Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation.

On Sunday evening, Sarah Bloomfield, director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, welcomed the Alumni to the conference. In her introduction of Dr. Sam Kassow she said, "If you think you knew anything about the Ringelblum archives, forget it, because you are in for a treat!" She was right!

Samuel D. Kassow spoke energetically and knowledgeably about the three Oyneg Shabes Archives created in absolute secrecy in the Warsaw Ghetto by a small group of people led by Emanuel Ringelblum. Professor Kassow described the historical events going on during World War Two that affected and eventually eliminated the Warsaw Ghetto. Professor Kassow is a consultant to the The Museum of the History of Polish Jews which is planned to open on the site of the Warsaw Ghetto in 2012.

As a closing lecture on Monday morning, Dr. Michael Berenbaum wove a schema for thinking about resistance that will change the way all of us present on this topic from now on. My thanks to both of them for their outstanding presentations. Professor Berenbaum is the director of the Sigi Ziering Institute for Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust at American Jewish University where he is also a Professor of Jewish Studies.

At the official opening of our conference, Dr. Steven Meed, son of our program’s founder Vladka Meed, extended greetings on behalf of his mother and the entire Meed Family. It was a particularly poignant moment for all of us, as we realized that Vladka Meed would not be able to accompany teachers on the summer program or attend our gatherings because of the difficulties she is experiencing due to advancing age. So many of us have vivid memories of being with her and of listening to her testimony. It was through her perseverance and strongly held belief that teachers should emphasize the spiritual resistance of Jews during the Holocaust that a new way of teaching about this subject was inaugurated Though she always claimed she was not a teacher, her leadership by example was pedagogically perfect. Steven Meed’s lovely metaphor of being witnesses to the witnesses helped all of us to maintain our focus and commitment.

Dr. Steven Meed seen with his mother, Vladka Meed, at the 2008 Gala Dinner in New York for the American Friends of Ghetto Fighters' House.