November 29, 2005

We had fun learning a little Yiddish — about its roots and how mainstream it’s become. Some of us also shared the Yiddish we heard growing up. A special thanks to our guests, Myra Mniewski of Yugntruf (Call to Youth), and Corey Breier of the Yiddish Theatrical Alliance.

We learned about its background, place in American culture, place in our lives, and briefly discussed its future.

You can download a full meeting summary by clicking here.

October 27, 2005

Thanks to everyone who made it out to the 3GNY Launch Party at Black Door last Thursday. It was great seeing so many new faces along with many familiar faces. It was the first of many fun social events to come.

September 25, 2005

3GNY had a booth at Jewzapalooza, part of the New York Jewish Music and Heritage Festival. Thanks to all those who came to visit and who signed up for our mailing list. We look forward to seeing you at future events!

August 24, 2005

 Thanks to all those who made it to Makor Wednesday, August 24. For those unable to attend, we watched video testimony of Serena Farkas. Serena is a survivor of Auschwitz and the grandmother of member Gabe Farkas.

In the four-part video, produced by the Shoah Foundation, we learned of Serena Farkas’s experiences. Of note:

• Born in 1922, she is originally from Tirgo Mares in the Transylvania region of present-day Romania.
• In 1940, the Hungarian army moved her and her family to a ghetto in the forests of Romania.
• In 1944, they were sent to Lodz, Poland where she worked making munitions.
• Soon after, she and her family were deported to Auschwitz. With her were her parents, four siblings, aunt, uncle, grandmother and grandfather.
• She was the only one of her family to survive when Auschwitz was liberated by the Russians in ‘45. She soon returned to Romania.
• In 1961, Serena and Jacob (Gabe’s grandfather) left Romania for America. Gabe’s father was 14 at the time.

Watching the film prompted some questions:

1. Should there be criteria for the label “survivor”? We reached a consensus that the term survivor does and should include anyone who was in Nazi-occupied Europe (or nations allied with Hitler) and lived through it regardless of whether they saw a camp, or a ghetto or a Nazi.
2. What and when did she know of her family’s fate? How did our grandparents cope with not knowing the fate of family members for so long?
3. Why did the Nazis tattoo numbers on inmates they were sending to the gas chambers? Serena told how the Nazis would mark a “K” on those destined for the crematorium, to ensure that they “wouldn’t get lost” along the way. Serena then showed her tattoo. She had an “A” for “arbeit” (work).

Towards the end, we discussed what’s coming next for our group:

3GNY’s September event will be a little different. We will be a part of “Jewzapalooza” on Sunday, September 25th. We have reserved a booth and will have members there to meet, greet and answer questions.

July 27, 2005

Thanks to all those who made it out to the museum Wednesday, July 27. It was great to see so many new faces. For those unable to attend, we went on a guided tour of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.

Meeting Summary:

• Before the tour started, we all met and introduced ourselves in the lobby. We were greeted by our guide Inge Oppenheimer. Inge grew up in Cologne, Germany and survived Theresienstadt and Auschwitz.
• The tour spanned three floors. The first held beautiful relics of Jewish cultural and religious life from last century. One that struck me was an ornate wedding dress, made in Bombay, that a recent emigre to Palestine had ordered for her wedding. There were also photos of old synagogues from such diverse locales as Turkey, Afghanistan and Cologne (the same shul Inge attended as a child). There was also a section devoted to the influence and inspiration Jews brought to political movements such as Socialism and Liberalism.
• The second floor was devoted to the Holocaust. There were sections, or panels, focusing on lesser known themes such as the war against children, the pattern of deception the Nazis used and the difficulty that many faced in trying to escape before the war. Throughout this section, tv monitors played survivor testimony. The impact of seeing and hearing lived evidence throughout the floor is tremendous. This is what truly makes this museum a “living memorial”.
• The third floor was a helpful reminder of the hope and optimism that exist in a post-Holocaust world. A large part was devoted to the founding of Israel, the fight to save Soviet Jewry and the contributions that Jews have made to the modern world.

June 15, 2005

We met with Dubby Arbell, Director-General of the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel.

Meeting Summary:

• We went around the room and briefly exchanged family stories. Specifically, Dubby wanted to know where our grandparents/parents were from. Latvia, Poland, Romania and Russia were some of our answers. Dubby told us how his father, a Danish Jew, had been saved from deportation by being secretly ferried, under cover of darkness, over the straits to safe and neutral Sweden.
• Dubby talked about Israel’s survivor community: The not-so-warm response they initially received from the natives; The events that led to the gradual change in the way Israel views its survivor citizens: The Eichmann trial, the Yom Kippur War and the more recent John Demanjuk trial. He also mentioned that Israel’s current Chief Rabbi, Israel Meir Lau, is a survivor and has recently put out his autobiography.
• Dubby described his organization and the challenges it faces: The several channels of aid they offer survivors, from home nursing care, to an individual grants program to the “Flower for a Survivor” program, which provides survivors visits from teenagers, an enriching experience for both. He discussed the problem of solitude in particular. He noted that at least 20% of survivors in Israel have not rebuilt families since the war and survivors with families are, nevertheless, in need of special services. We also discussed the reasons why some survivors in Israel live below the poverty line, and how that’s being addressed.

In closing, Dubby stressed the importance of being close with our grandparents. We should take advantage of the fact that many survivors are more open with our generation and would be more than willing to meet with us and share their stories. Dubby urged that we all keep in touch with him and one day soon we’ll all meet together again in Israel.

May 19, 2005

We watched the 2G documentary “Then and Now: Children of Holocaust Survivors Speak”.

(Thanks to Shoshana Romer for bringing her father’s film.)
In the film, 2Gs speak about their family history and the experience of growing up a child of survivors. Many of their experiences were similar, such as feeling different from their peers and their parents’ pervasive silence about the Holocaust. Now, as part of a 2G community in Colorado, they have found solace and comfort in connecting with people like themselves.

Afterwards, we discussed:

• The film and the differences between us and the 2nd generation. We agreed that the generational gap won’t seem as large with the arrival of the fourth generation, most of whom will never have known our grandparents.
• Our sense of community and how we may have more in common with each other than we think, even though we’re two generations removed from the Holocaust.
• How we and our families view intermarriage
• The role ordinary citizens, particularly Poles, played in helping to carry out the Holocaust. This topic stemmed from an astounding figure cited in the film — the Jewish survival rate in Poland was 1.5%.

There was interest in seeing the documentary “I’m Still Here”, which aired on MTV earlier this month. I’m working on getting the video. If there are other relevant films or tv programs anyone would like to see, just let me know.

I wrote the group’s mission statement on the board and received some helpful feedback. I’ve attached a current draft. Your comments would be most welcome.

We had a nice turnout Thursday — 16 were there. I want to encourage even more people to come to our fifth meeting, since we’ll have a very important guest.

April 18, 2005

 After everyone introduced themselves and shared a little of their family history, we discussed the following:

• Yom Hashoah and our past participation. There were also announcements of upcoming commemoration events.
• Holocaust Denial, which included a reading of Deborah Lipstadt’s letter to the Times about C-SPAN’s coverage of her book “History on Trial”. We talked about deniers, delegitimizers and their motivations.
• What’s the meaning of 3G Activism? We did try to define what activism would mean to this group. Is it enough to meet once a month and talk about issues or should our goals be more broad? There was a consensus not to rush into group activism until we have a well-defined purpose and message.

March 23, 2005

Sorry you guys couldn’t make the meeting Wednesday. It was a great turnout. We discussed a lot of issues and everyone was eager to speak. I’ve attached some materials which I handed out at the meeting: a copy of the group’s agenda/outliine, which was discussed briefly, and a survey which everyone filled out. Information for two upcoming events can be found on pages 3 and 4. One event is a fundraiser for Yad Vashem and the other a film screening and discussion for “Anew Generation,” a 2G-3G group in Manhattan.

When you have the time, please fill out the survey (make bold your selections) and email back. Or you can print and bring them to our next meeting.

I’ll soon email everyone a summary of Wednesday, and info on the next meeting.

Have a great weekend,
Daniel

February 23, 2005

I want to thank those who participated in Wednesday night’s meeting. I look forward to meeting those unable to attend, and others. It was nice to take in a piece of everyone’s family story, even if it was in condensed form. It was also gratifying to finally hear our generation’s perspective on, among other issues, the current meaning of the Holocaust and the effects it has had on our families.

We exchanged ideas on adopting a mission statement, but ultimately agreed that right now it is not vital. Goals and objectives — even the group’s name — should evolve as the group does. We should eventually assume an activist role, but we’ll start by coming together to explore the significance of our being grandchildren of survivors. Just by getting together Wednesday, we realized an immediate and fundamental purpose for the group:

A forum dedicated specifically to the grandchildren of Survivors; a place where 3rd gen. can come to be heard and connect with each
other.

At the end of the meeting, the group agreed to move forward in three areas:

1. Outreach — We all volunteered to help increase awarenes of the group, either through word-of-mouth, email forwards or phone calls to local orgs and Hillels.
2. Support — Several of us, including myself, will inquire with Jewish/Holocaust orgs about potential sponsorship and promotion.
3. Communication — I am in the process of setting up a group website.

I’ll pass along the address when complete.

FYI: Our next meeting is scheduled for March 23, 7:30pm, at Makor.

Have a great weekend,
DB