Online Book Discussion: We Share the Same Sky: A Memoir of Memory & Migration by Rachael Cerrotti
2022-01-20 14:00 (America/Phoenix)
We Share the Same Sky: A Memoir of Memory & Migration
by Rachael Cerrotti
Discussion led by Sheryl Bronkesh, President of Phoenix Holocaust Association
Thursday, January 20, 2022 at 2PM (MST)
A granddaughter’s decade-long journey to retrace her grandmother’s wartime escape and weave together the thin threads of family history.
In 2009, Rachael Cerrotti, a college student pursuing a career in photojournalism, asked her grandmother, Hana, if she could record her story. Rachael knew that her grandmother was a Holocaust survivor and the only one in her family alive at the end of the war. Rachael also knew that she survived because of the kindness of strangers. It wasn’t a secret. Hana spoke about her history publicly and regularly. But, Rachael wanted to document it as only a granddaughter could. So, that’s what they did: Hana talked and Rachael wrote
Upon Hana’s passing in 2010, Rachael discovered an incredible archive of her life. There were preserved albums and hundreds of photographs dating back to the 1920s. There were letters waiting to be translated, journals, diaries, deportation and immigration papers as well as creative writings from various stages of Hana’s life.
Rachael digitized and organized it all, plucking it from the past and placing it into her present. Then, she began retracing her grandmother’s story, following her through Central Europe, Scandinavia, and across the United States. She tracked down the descendants of those who helped save her grandmother’s life during the war. Rachael went in pursuit of her grandmother’s memory to explore how the retelling of family stories becomes the history itself.
We Share the Same Sky weaves together the stories of these two young women — Hana as a refugee who remains one step ahead of the Nazis at every turn, and Rachael, whose insatiable curiosity to touch the past guides her into the lives of countless strangers, bringing her love and tragic loss. Throughout the course of her twenties, Hana’s history becomes a guidebook for Rachael in how to live a life empowered by grief.
Register Here: We Share the Same Sky — Arizona Jewish Historical Society (azjhs.org)

Descendants' Forum Judith Greenberg “Cypora’s Echo” - the story of family members during World War II in Poland.
2022-01-27 18:00 - 19:00
Judith Greenberg holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Yale University
and had been writing and teaching about trauma and literature for years before
she discovered the history of the last days of the Jews of Siedlce, Poland
recorded by her own relative, Cypora Jablon Zonszajn. Cypora understood that
the only chance for her baby daughter, Rachel, lay outside the ghetto. Cypora
gave Rachel to her Catholic friends from childhood. Cypora’s friends raised
Rachel and buried their friend’s written pages, which are now held at the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
RSVP:
RESERVATIONS ARE A MUST so we can add you to the
participant list. RSVP to Elaine Goldenthal
elainegoldenthal@gmail.com Or phone 480.330.1547.

Teacher's Workshop: Teaching the Holocaust
2022-02-08 16:00 - 19:00
Teaching the Holocaust Workshop – FEB. 8, 2022

Includes a virtual tour of the Holocaust Center, survivor presentation/Q&A, and lessons from the new Holocaust curriculum for middle and high school students. From 4-7 PM MST. Participants will receive a certificate for 3 seat hours.

Register Here: https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/YnrrVeXLY7AlWxj3TfZlwQ

EVJCC Generations After Meeting
2022-02-09 11:00 - 12:30
Register below to receive the link. The topic is the “Holocaust by Bullets” exhibit. Learn more about the exhibit There is no Zoom link in this email. To Register for Zoom Link you must go to the EVJCC page. https://www.evjcc.org/generations–after/
About the speaker:
Doris Lazarus is the proud daughter of two Holocaust survivors. Both of her parents survived the ghetto, over 2 years in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the death march and subsequent camps. Together they survived a total of 7 death camps. They met and married in a Displaced Persons camp 1 year after liberation. Doris has dedicated her life to Holocaust education and remembrance. She worked for Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation from 1993-1997 and interviewed over 125 Holocaust survivors from the Midwest as part of that project.

Doris is a founding member of both the U.S. Holocaust Museum and the Illinois Holocaust Museum. In 1998, she participated in the U.S. Museum’s first mission to Auschwitz. She has given many lectures on the Holocaust and has been a docent at the Illinois Holocaust Museum for 13 years. She is also a certified speaker on the Museum’s 2nd generation Speaker’s Bureau. In addition, she is a moderator for the Illinois Holocaust Museum’s Survivor Hologram Technology. In 2019, while in Phoenix, she served as a docent for the Holocaust By Bullets Exhibition.
Please use the web page Generations After – EVJCC

26th Annual Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival
2022-02-10 - 2022-02-27
The 26th Annual Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival, showcasing the best in international Jewish films, will stream from February 10-27, 2022. With your safety in mind, the Festival is virtual, allowing you to view great Jewish films from the comfort and safety of your own home.

Film information, screening schedules and ticket sales
available at WWW.GPJFF.ORG

Café Europa
2022-02-13 16:00 - 17:00
Menu
Schnitzel
Grilled Veggies
Rice
Dessert
Brownies
Sunday Feb 13, 2022,
free meals will be delivered to
survivors between 1pm-3pm.
ZOOM starts @ 4:00pm.
RSVP with Elaine @
elainegoldenthal@gmail.com
Meals are free for Holocaust survivors.
additional meals can also be ordered for $25

Echoes & Reflections Workshops: Analyzing Propaganda and Teaching Media Literacy
2022-02-16 16:00 - 18:00
Analyzing Propaganda and Teaching Media Literacy: The Holocaust as a Case Study

Description
Media literacy skills have become essential for young people to successfully navigate and critically assess the ever-increasing amount of information they receive throughout their day – on social media, advertisements, television, and film. Therefore, it is crucial for students to comprehend and identify how media, both historically and in contemporary society, can be used as a tool to incite hate and violence against certain groups. This learning opportunity examines the events of the Holocaust through the lens of media, by examining propaganda deployed by the Nazis to discriminate against Jews and other minorities. Educators will gain the tools to facilitate classroom discussions on the role and impact of Nazi propaganda during the Holocaust and support their students to critically analyze media in today’s world.
This program is sponsored by Tucson Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center.

Time

Feb 16, 2022 04:00 PM
Register Here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAqcuChrDkoGNR5zFMGspdRJxElUAx0YQ-f

Tommy Schnurmacher: Makeup Tips from Auschwitz
2022-02-16 17:30
Wednesday February 16, 2022 at 5:30 PM MST; 7:30 EST; 4:30 PST
Register here: https://tinyurl.com/3jhyk5t4
Make Up Tips from Auschwitz. Join us to listen to the widely-recognized Canadian author, journalist, show-business columnist, broadcaster, Board member -Foundation for Genocide Education….and raconteur extraordinaire, Tommy Schnurmacher, as he offers us a very unique post-Holocaust memoir about how his mother got two infamous Nazis to save her life … and the profound impact her chutzpah had on their unusual and turbulent relationship.
Be prepared to laugh, cry, and scratch your head.

Echoes and Reflections: Contemporary Antisemitism
2022-02-23 16:00 - 18:00
Spotlight on Contemporary Antisemitism

Description
Read the news and it is clear: antisemitism is not a relic of the past, but a hatred the world struggles with today. It is important that educators have the resources and tools to feel prepared to talk about contemporary manifestations of antisemitism and hate with students. This learning opportunity explores classroom materials to support effective teaching of contemporary antisemitism, its global reach, and its expression in the form of hate speech, violence, denial, and distortion of the Holocaust. Educators will also explore ways to support students’ commitment and ability to actively respond to and prevent antisemitism and other forms of prejudice in their communities.
This program is sponsored by Tucson Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center.

Time

Feb 23, 2022 04:00 PM
Register Here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIuc-qsqjojGNclhkfEHCG_rAYfI5dXCCFZ

Holocaust by Bullets
2022-02-27 - 2022-04-17 | Hayden Library at ASU, 300 E Orange Mall, Tempe, Arizona, 85281
The Holocaust by Bullets exhibit will be open at ASU’s Hayden Library from
February 27 through April 17.
*Hayden Library will be closed Sunday March 6.

The exhibition “Holocaust by Bullets 10 Years of Investigation” presents the results of Yahad-In Unum’s research in Eastern Europe.
It also underscores the “Holocaust by Bullets” as a precursor and model for mass murder crimes today. The exhibit showcases the painstaking research uncovering the step-by-step nature of the crimes committed against Jews and Roma by the Nazi killing units. The exhibition is built around the five steps of the crime identified by Yahad-In Unum researchers based on eyewitness accounts.

Docent-Led Exhibit Tours Open to the Public
Mondays from 5–7 pm and Sundays from 1–3 pm from Feb. 28–April 17
Hayden Library at Arizona State University, 300 E Orange Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281
Masks Required
*Hayden Library will be closed Sunday March 6.

Visit the Holocaust by Bullets Website for More information about the events: Holocaust by Bullets (holocaustbybulletsphoenix.com)

The 2022 Holocaust Educator Conference
2022-02-28 16:30 - 21:00
Keynote speaker will be author and award-winning podcast host, Rachael Cerrotti. Rachael is the author of a book and podcast of the same name, We Share the Same Sky. She also cohosts the Memory Generation podcast with oral historian Stephen D. Smith, a project of the USC Shoah Foundation.

Register for Online Event: LINKS.ASU.EDU/BJECONFERENCE

Catching the Body Collector
2022-03-06 11:00
Join 3GAZ for this Exciting Online Event!
Catching the Body Collector
Meet Hans Knoop, the legendary Dutch journalist who was instrumental in exposing one of the worst war criminals in Dutch history. Hear how Mr. Knoop and Chaviv (Bibi) Kanaan helped bring justice to the Kanaan family and countless other Holocaust victims. Local Phoenix resident and grandson of Chaviv Kanaan, Erez Kanaan (3G), and Erez’s father David Kanaan (2G) will be joining us for this riveting presentation about their family’s story.
Sunday, March 6, 2022
11:00 am MST
via Zoom
Register: Catching the Body Collector Registration, Sun, Mar 6, 2022 at 11:00 AM | Eventbrite

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz: The True Story of the Women Who Sewed to Survive
2022-03-23 12:00
Please Join PHA in an Online Discussion with Lucy Adlington
Date and time

Wed, Mar 23, 2022, 12:00 PM MST
Register: https://tinyurl.com/4fm9k2w5

Keynote Presentation by Father Patrick Desbois: ﻿Holocaust by Bullets and Relevance to Modern Genocides
2022-04-04 18:30 | Memorial Union on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University, 301 E. Orange St, Tempe, Arizona, 85281
April 4, 2022, 6:30 pm

Father Patrick Desbois will be the keynote speaker for Genocide Awareness Week. Father Desbois is a distinguished author, university professor, historian, forensic detective and world-renowned human-rights activist. He has dedicated his life to fighting the bigotry that fuels genocide and to bridging the divide between faiths. His ongoing work helps brings closure to victims and survivors of genocide and calls for legal justice for the perpetrators.

Father Desbois will speak at the Memorial Union, Arizona Ballroom, on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University. Limited seating. Reservations required. When you sign up, you can indicate if you want to attend in-person or virtually. Father Desbois’ book, In Broad Daylight, will be available for sale or bring your copy of his books for signing.

Registration: Keynote Speech by Father Patrick Desbois: Holocaust by Bullets and Relevance to Modern Genocides – New Registration (eventscloud.com)

The Phoenix Boys Choir will perform prior to Father Desbois presentation.

Klezmer Band Concert
Free and Open to the Public
5pm-6pm
Between The Memorial Union and Hayden Library, ASU Tempe Campus

The Current State of Antisemitism
2022-04-06 17:00
3GAZ will be one the sponsors for this upcoming event on The Current State of Antisemitism a virtual conversation with fellow 3G Josh Lipowsky.

April 6, 2022

5:00pm AZ
8:00pm EST

Register Here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fGfm0h6ETFqO0QCneFLe-w

Hidden Children: The Resilience of Survivors
2022-04-13 11:00 - 12:30
Wednesday, April 13 | 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
The program will be held on Zoom.
Register below to receive the link, which will be sent the day before the program.
Go to this page for Registration
Generations After – EVJCC

Join Generations After to learn about children who were hidden during the Holocaust. The program includes a video about hidden children and Q&A with Holocaust survivor Marion Weinzweig, one of the youngest living witnesses to the horrors of the Holocaust.
Marion was born in German-occupied Poland. To save her life, her family hid her with Christians. After being exposed, she fled and lived in convents masquerading as a Catholic. She shared her story in “Lonely Chameleon; Memoir of a Child Holocaust Survivor.”
Please call EVJCC if you have any difficulty register

Café Europa
2022-04-14 16:00 - 17:00
Thursday April 14
Meals will be delivered between 1-3pm
Special Passover Menu
Join us on ZOOM @ 4:00pm to discuss Passover memories through the years
RSVP with Elaine @ elainegoldenthal@gmail.com

YOM HASHOAH
2022-05-01 11:00
Phoenix Holocaust Association Invites You to Join Us for
YOM HASHOAH
Never Again, But How?
May 1, 2022 11:00 AM
Virtual Presentation
Open to the Community
Visit https://phoenixhsa.formstack.com/forms/2022_yom_hashoah_rsvp to RSVP
We will honor the memory of those who perished during the
Holocaust and recognize those who survived. The program features a
round table discussion with high school students and Holocaust
survivors, music, and a candle-lighting ceremony.
Participants: Rabbi Andy Green of Congregation Or Tzion, Cantor
Seth Ettinger of Congregation Beth Israel
and Shevet Shemesh Israeli Scouts.

The Story Behind the Making of the Play The Last Boy.
2022-05-18 17:00
Please join PHA In Our Upcoming
Online Discussion with Steve Fisher
Steve Fisher is a New York based, award-winning playwright. For 25 years Steve was a full-time choral director, travelling the world and transforming the lives of young people through the power of music. His choir was the first in history to travel to and perform in Antarctica. With the pandemic, he decided to retire from music education so that he could pursue his playwriting avocation full time. Mr. Fisher will talk about his most recent work, The Last Boy…a new play with music. It was inspired by the 100 boys in Terezin concentration camp who fought the Nazis
with poems, and the 1 boy who saved them. The Last Boy..a new play with music had its world premiere Off Broadway in July of 2021. In January, the drama won four Broadway World Awards for Best New Play, Best Production, Best Direction, and Best Performance. You can learn more about the play at https://thelastboy.info/

Whew...We Got Out of There
2022-05-20 10:00
Whew…We Got Out of There. Friday May 20, 2022 @ 10:00AM MST.
SPEAKER: Holocaust Survivor, John Kessler. Join us on Friday May
20th, when John will share with us his story of survival and how he and
his family GOT OUT OF THERE…WHEW! To Register:
afusco@azjhs.org

CAFE´ EUROPA
2022-05-22 16:30
Join us on ZOOM @ 4:30pm for a poetry reading by
Susan Getz. Susan’s mother was a Holocaust survivor,
and she will be reading from her manuscript
“Holocaust Memories and Other Poems”. We would also like to
encourage anyone attending to read one of their favorite poems.
Email Elaine: elainegoldenthal@gmail.com

The Birds Sang Eulogies
2022-06-10 10:00 - 12:00
Friday, June 10 2022 – 10AM-12PM (MST)
SPEAKER: Mirla G. Raz, daughter of Holocaust Survivors
Mirla Geclewicz Raz is the daughter of Holocaust survivors. Her father was living in Lodz when the Germans entered in September 1939. Draconian laws were put into place immediately. In March 1940, the Jews of Lodz were trapped inside the Lodz Ghetto. When the Lodz Ghetto was liquidated in August 1944, her father and his remaining family members were shipped to Auschwitz. Ms. Raz’s mother was living in the city of Lvov (now Lviv in Ukraine) when Hitler broke his pact with Stalin. Her mother and her family were forced into the Lvov Ghetto. She escaped into Germany where she worked as a maid in a German household. A quiet woman, she expressed her emotions of living through those horrific years in her poetry.
Ms. Raz will present her parents incredible stories of survival and what it was like growing up as a child of survivors. Ms. Raz will read a couple of her mother’s very emotive poems.
Register: The Birds Sang Eulogies — Arizona Jewish Historical Society (azjhs.org)

Rescued
2022-06-24 10:00 - 12:00
RESCUED Friday, June 24, 2022 – 10:00 am to 12:00 pm MST
SPEAKER: Holocaust Survivor, Suly Chenkin. Suly Chenkinwas born in Kovno, Lithuania. As a ten month old, Suly’s family, together with about 40,000 other Jews were interned in the Kovno Ghetto. Her life was spared at 3 1/2 when her parents sent her into hiding with a woman named Miriam Shulman. Please join us as Suly tells her incredible story of perseverance
and courage and how she eventually came to be reunited with her family.
Register: afusco@azjhs.org

You Are My Liberator
2022-07-08 10:00 - 12:00
Friday, July 8, 2022 – 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (MST)
SPEAKER: US Liberator of World War II, Vernon Schmidt
Register: afusco@azjhs.org

Sevek & the Holocaust The Boy Who Refused to Die
2022-08-12 10:00 - 12:00
Friday, August 12, 2022 – 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (MST)
SPEAKER: Holocaust survivor, Sidney “Sevek” Finkel
Sidney “Sevek” Finkel is the author of Sevek and the Holocaust, The Boy Who Refused to Die. This Holocaust seminar will focus on an eight-year-old Sevek, capturing the emotions of a boy who loses his home, his family and ultimately his humanity by the time he reaches the age of fourteen. This seminar is used to help with recently passed legislation that offers teachers an opportunity to apply this session in their curriculum in the State of Arizona, Join is on August 12 as Finkel will share his story, relaying a message of tolerance, hope and love.
Sidney Finkel received the Philip K Weiss Award for Storytelling for Peace and Human Rights in 2013.
Learn more about Sidney Finkel’s work with schools and education at his website http://holocaustspeaker.com/
RSVP: afusco@azjhs.org

Online Discussion with Jeremy Schonfeld
2022-10-12 17:00
“Iron & Coal” is a powerful and deeply personal rock-opera by critically acclaimed composer and performer, Jeremy Schonfeld. Taking inspiration from his father Gustav’s memoir, “Absence of Closure,” Schonfeld traces his father’s attempts to create a life out of the ashes, having spent a year in concentration camps at the age of ten. Schonfeld weaves together memories of his own childhood, growing up under the long shadows of Auschwitz, all while coming to terms with the death of his father and the birth of his own son. The ghosts of a distant, vanished world, both of horror and the iron will to survive, mix with the present in this soaring, emotional, and spiritual tribute.
Register: https://tinyurl.com/ns86ctwn

Iron & Coal is available for viewing prior to the presentation at https://vimeo.com/295417921/129cd8ac94.

Online Book Discussion with Author Gina Roitman: My Mother, the Nazi Midwife and Me
2022-11-16 17:30
IMAGINE learning that 52 Jewish newborns “died” right after their birth in one DP camp in Germany – between 1946-1947!!! Who killed them and why?
JOIN US: The Phoenix Holocaust Association invites you to an interview with Gina Roitman, award winning writer, poet, essayist, and a Second Generation, born in the Passau DP Camp, Germany, to Polish survivor parents. We will focus on her two books and also describe the post-war horrors reflected in her documentary film “My Mother, the Nazi Midwife and Me.”
Also about her books: Tell Me a Story, Tell me the Truth; Don’t Ask.

Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at 5:30 PM Arizona time; 7:30 PM EST; 4:30 PM Pacific (check your time zones).
To register: https://tinyurl.com/2p87b2dv

www.nazimidwife.com

Discussion with Author, Martin Goldsmith: The Inextinguishable Symphony: A True Story of Music and Love in Nazi Germany.
2022-12-15 14:00
The Inextinguishable Symphony: A True Story of Music and Love in Nazi Germany

Discussion with Author, Martin Goldsmith

December 15, 2022 at 2PM (MST)
Discussion via ZOOM

Set amid the growing tyranny of Germany’s Third Reich, here is the riveting and emotional tale of Günther Goldschmidt and Rosemarie Gumpert, two courageous Jewish musicians who struggled to perform under unimaginable circumstances―and found themselves falling in love in a country bent on destroying them.
Beautifully and simply told by their son, National Public Radio commentator Martin Goldsmith, The Inextinguishable Symphony takes us from the cafés of Frankfurt, where Rosemarie and Günther fell in love, to the concert halls that offered solace and hope for the beleaguered Jews, to the United States, where the two made a new life for themselves that would nevertheless remain shadowed by the fate of their families. Here is Günther and Rosemarie’s story, a deeply moving tale of love and the remarkable resilience of the human spirit in the face of terror and persecution.
Along with the fate of Günther and Rosemarie’s families, this rare memoir also illuminates the Kulturbund and the lives of other fascinating figures associated with it, including Kubu director Kurt Singer―a man so committed to the organization that he objected to his artists’ plans for flight, fearing that his productions would suffer. The Kubu, which included some of the most prominent artists of the day and young performers who would gain international fame after the war, became the sole source of culture and entertainment for Germany’s Jews. A poignant testament to the enduring vitality of music and love even in the harshest times, The Inextinguishable Symphony gives us a compelling look at an important piece of Holocaust history that has heretofore gone largely untold.
Registration: The Inextinguishable Symphony: A True Story of Music and Love in Nazi Germany — Arizona Jewish Historical Society (azjhs.org)

Online Book Discussion with Author Dan Grunfeld: By the Grace of the Game: The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy and an Unprecedented American Dream
2023-02-15 17:00
By the Grace of the Game:
The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy and an Unprecedented American Dream
Feb 15th @ 5:00 pm MST
Register: https://tinyurl.com/mr3ebppa
Dan Grunfeld is 3rd Generation Holocaust Descendant, a former professional basketball player, an accomplished writer, and a proud graduate of Stanford University. Join us when he discusses his family’s multi-generational epic detailing history’s only known journey from Auschwitz to the NBA. From the grips of the Nazis to the top of the Olympic podium, from the cheap seats to center stage at Madison Square Garden, from yellow stars to silver spoons, this complex tale traverses the spectrum of the human experience to detail how perseverance, love, and legacy can survive through generations, carried on the shoulders of a simple and beautiful game.

Holding onto the Hate Let the Haters Win
2023-02-24 10:00 - 12:00
Friday, February 24, 2023, 10AM-12PM (MST)
Featured Guest: Holocaust Survivor, Andrew Schot
Andrew Schot was 9 years old in 1940 when the Germans invaded the Netherlands. He was almost two years younger than Anne Frank and about 5 years younger than her sister Margot.
Jewish students were banned from educational institutions, forced into smaller Jews only schools, this is where Andrew met Anne and through Anne, her sister Margot. While Andrew did not grow up in a Jewish home and was not considered a Jew according to Jewish Law (Andrew’s father was Jewish, his mother was not), Andrew was labeled a full blooded Jew by the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws. He was forced to wear a yellow star and recalls a sign in a store window: “No Jews allowed when humans are on the premises”.
His father, after receiving a relocation notice, went into hiding, returning to his home on weekends. He was caught and Andrew later found out he was taken to Bergen-Belsen. Andrew and his sister who was six years older, went into hiding, explaining to their mother that it would be better for all if they left. After surviving on the run for two years, careful to never stay in one place for more than a day, they were caught, loaded into trucks then cattle cars, separated from one another, Andrew’s sister’s train went to Dachau, Andrew’s was destined for Bergen-Belsen.
After liberation Andrew made his way to the United States, where was drafted into the U.S. Army, later transferring to the Air Force where he served for 26 years. Andrew didn’t tell anyone — including his wife and kids — about his own family’s World War II tragedy until the mid 90s. Since then Andrew has spoken to countless students, adults, military, and every graduating class of the Tucson Police Department. Andrew shares the importance of speaking up against prejudice and greed, not forgetting but also not permitting hate to have a role in his life.
REGISTER: https://www.azjhs.org/holocaust-survivor-conversations
