Yom HaShoah Program 2018 by Abby Stewart

Yom HaShoah April 9, 2018

Keynote Speaker: Prof. Omer Bartov

MISSION STATEMENT The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies is an interdisciplinary academic center committed to advancing research, education and public programming in the fields of Holocaust education, comparative genocide, conflict studies, and human rights. Its academic, professional development and public programs aim to educate and empower students, teachers and the community to combat racism, prejudice, ethnic hatred, and abuse of authorityâ€”the root causes of mass violence and atrocities. Center Faculty and Staff Professor Chris Mauriello, Director Professor Lisa Mulman, Faculty Associate Professor Stephenie Young, Faculty Associate Professor Kevin Borgeson, Faculty Research Fellow (2018â€“2019) Professor Brad Austin, Interim Faculty Associate Dan Eshet, PhD, Program Director Cathy Hennessey, Program Manager Executive Board Professor Chris Mauriello, Director Harriet Wacks Jill Sullivan Professor Rob McAndrews Professor Lisa Mulman Professor Stephenie Young Community Board Jill Sullivan, Chairperson Professor Chris Mauriello, Director Ed Morneau Charles Orrell Zellie Kaplan Marcia Glassman-Jaffe Amy Forman Anthony Guerriero Marty Schneer Dennis Calhoun

Academic Board Professor Stephenie Young, Salem State University, Chairperson Professor Kevin Borgeson, Salem State University Professor Vladimir Petrovic, Boston University Professor Larry Davis, North Shore Community College Professor Lisa Mulman, Salem State University Ellen Elias-BursacĚ , PhD, Translator, Cambridge, Massachusetts Professor Bridget Conley, Fletcher School, Tufts University

Yom HaShoah 2018 Sponsors City of Peabody Temple Tiferet Shalom of West Peabody-Rabbi David Kudan Congregation Beth Israel, Andover/Lawrence Temple Emanu-El of Marblehead-Rabbi David Meyer Temple Emanu-El of Haverhill Congregation Shirat Hayam-Rabbi Michael Ragozin Temple Ner Tamid, Peabody- Rabbi Perlman Temple Sinai-Marblehead Lappin Foundation

“I dream of a world without victims and victimizers—and, even more, without bystanders.” —Sonia Schreiber Weitz

Sonia Schreiber Weitz (1928–2010) Our Holocaust commemoration ceremony is dedicated to the memory of Sonia Schreiber Weitz, Holocaust survivor, poet, educator, and human rights activist. Born in Krakow, Poland, Sonia and her late sister, Blanca, survived the Krakow ghetto and five Nazi camps, including Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. She was the cofounder of the Holocaust Center, Boston North Inc., which was later incorporated into Salem State University and renamed the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Through her everyday actions and her written and spoken words, Sonia encouraged and inspired many. She hoped for a world “without victims and victimizers—and, even more, without bystanders.”

Director’s Message Torchlight parades, armed men carrying Nazi flags, and angry mobs chanting “Jews will not replace us.” These are not distant historical memories; this is our now. The events in Charlottesville last summer were a wake-up call to the enduring reality of antisemitism, racism, prejudice, and militant ethnic nationalism, a reminder of why it is necessary for us to gather each year at Yom HaShoah to remember and commemorate the Holocaust. It is a time for reflection on the millions of Jews who were mercilessly killed during the Holocaust by the German regime. It compels us to ask: How could this happen? Why didn’t the world do something to stop it? In this way, Yom HaShoah is a call for both deep reflection and action. We cannot ignore the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime to slaughter innocent men, women and children in Syria. We cannot close our eyes to the genocides in South Sudan, Iraq and Myanmar. We cannot watch right-wing nationalist governments in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic obfuscate the history of the Holocaust and deny their own nations’ responsibility, partial as it was. We cannot tolerate a 60 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in our own commonwealth. Let us remember the Holocaust tonight with a renewed resolve and commitment to fight antisemitism, racism, prejudice, and ethnic hatred. In the words of Sonia Weitz: “Let us remember the past so that there can be a future.”

YOM HASHOAH PROGRAM Welcome, Opening Remarks Professor Christopher Mauriello, Director, CHGS American Veterans’ Presentation of the Flag Star Spangled Banner Salem State Community Chorus Generations Poem, Candle-Lighting Ceremony Gail Goldstein Survivors, Families and Holocaust Legacy Partners A Tribute to Sonia Schreiber Weitz, Z”L Mary Kiley Musical Selection: “Ani Ma’amin” (I Believe) and “V’Haeir Eineinu” Salem State Community Chorus Special Recognition of Professor Marv Wilson Rob McAndrews Primo Levi, “If This is a Man” Kelly Couture Sonia Schreiber Weitz Upstander Award Jon Workman and Students Professor Lisa Mulman Remarks David Silva, Provost, Salem State University Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt, Jr., Peabody Memorial Prayers Holocaust Kaddish and El Malei Rachamim, Cantor Elana Rozenfeld, Shirat Hayam, Swampscott Keynote Address “Anatomy of a Genocide: The Life and Death of a Town Called Buczacz,” Professor Omer Bartov HaTikvah Cantor Elana Rozenfeld, Congregation Shirat Hayam, Swampscott

Omer Bartov is the John P. Birkelund Distinguished Professor of European History and Professor of German Studies at Brown University. Born in Israel and educated at Tel Aviv University and St. Antony’s College, Oxford, Omer Bartov’s early research concerned the Nazi indoctrination of the Wehrmacht and the crimes it committed in World War II, analyzed in his books The Eastern Front, 1941—1945, and Hitler’s Army. He then turned to the links between total war and genocide, discussed in his books Murder in Our Midst, Mirrors of Destruction and Germany’s War and the Holocaust. His recent monograph Erased investigates interethnic relations in the borderlands of Eastern Europe. Bartov’s new book, Anatomy of a Genocide: The Life and Death of a Town Called Buczacz, was published in January and is the subject of his keynote address.

Secret Wedding Sonia Schreiber Weitz, from her book I Promised I Would Tell … And so they were wed in a secret place; A handful of people … a damp basement room No music, no flowers and no pretty lace For the bride and groom. Wishing for a bit of time they may borrow, In a country conquered and plunged into gloom, Fully aware that a cruel tomorrow Would come all too soon. This time their parting—a nightmare to bear! The kind that awaking wouldn’t dispel; Each of them sentenced in helpless despair To a private hell.

Dor V’Dor (From Generation to Generation) We, who lived through hell And you, who know us well — We form a bond beyond The norm eternally—you must not weep, You must not fear — We do not sleep, we’re here To guide your hand, and When the last of us is gone You’ll understand And carry on … By the wisdom of your mind, By the power of your heart You are sensitive and smart, You’ll find a way … And so, we bestow The hope, the trust, The future, the past Upon you … and indeed Upon your seed

Musical Selections Salem State Community Chorus Ani ma’amin

I Believe

Ani ma’amin, Be’emuna shelema

I believe with complete faith In the coming of the Messiah, I believe

Beviat hamashiach ani ma’amin Beviat hamashiach, ma’amin Beviat hamashiach ani ma’amin Beviat hamashiach, ma’amin

Believe in the coming of the Messiah In the coming of the Messiah, I believe Believe in the coming of the Messiah

Veaf al pi sheyitmahmeha Im kol zeh, achake loh Veaf al pi sheyitmahmeha Im kol zeh, achake loh

And even though he may tarry Nonetheless, I will wait for him And even though he may tarry Nonetheless, I will wait for him

Im kol zeh, im kol zeh, achake loh Achake bechol yom sheyavoh Im kol zeh, im kol zeh, achake loh Achake bechol yom sheyavoh

Nonetheless, I will wait for him I will wait every day for him to come Nonetheless, I will wait for him I will wait every day for him to come

Ani ma’amin

I believe

[Hebrew Transliteration]

V’Haeir Eineinu

[English Translation]

[Hebrew Transliteration]

[English Translation]

V’Haeir eineinu b’toratecha, v’dabei libeinu b’mitsvotecha, v’yacheid l’vaveinu l’ahavah ul’yirah et sh’mecha. v’lo neivosh l’olam vaed, ki v’sheim kodsh’cha hagadol v’hanora batachnu.

Your Torah, Adonai, enlightens the eye You give us grace to seek your face And cleave unto your ways One body, one spirit We lift your name, your love proclaim You fill our hearts with praise (repeat) You free us from our shame You give new life again That we might love and honor you World without end (repeat)

“Light up our eyes with your Torah, and let our hearts cling to your Mitzvot, and unite our hearts to love and revere your name, that we shall never depart from it.”

If This Is a Man You who live safe In your warm houses, You who find, returning in the evening, Hot food and friendly faces: Consider if this is a man Who works in the mud Who does not know peace Who fights for a scrap of bread Who dies because of a yes or a no. Consider if this is a woman, Without hair and without name With no more strength to remember, Her eyes empty and her womb cold Like a frog in winter. Meditate that this came about: I commend these words to you. Carve them in your hearts At home, in the street, Going to bed, rising; Repeat them to your children, Or may your house fall apart, May illness impede you, May your children turn their faces from you. â€”Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz

Memorial Holocaust Kaddish Yit’gadal Auschwitz v-yit’kadash Babi Yar sh’mei raba Belzec b’al’ma di v’ra khir’utei Bergen-Belsen v’yam’likh mal’khutei Buchenwald b’chayeikhon uv’yomeikhon Chełmno uv’chayei d’khol beit yis’ra’eil Dachau ba’agala uviz’man kariv v’im’ru: Flossenbürg Amein / Amen Y’hei sh’mei raba m’varakh l’alam ul’al’mei al’maya Yit’barakh v’yish’tabach Gross-Rosen v’yit’pa’ar v’yit’romam Mauthausen v’yit’nasei v’yit’hadar Majdanek v’yit’aleh v’yit’halal Ravensbrück sh’mei d’kud’sha B’rikh hu. Sachsenhausen l’eila min kol bir’khata v’shirata Sobibór toosh’b’chatah v’nechematah, Stutthof da’ameeran b’al’mah, v’eemru: Terezín Amein / Amen Y’hei sh’lama raba min sh’maya v’chayim aleinu v’al kol yis’ra’eil v’im’ru Amein / Amen Oseh shalom bim’romav hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu v’al kol Yis’ra’eil v’im’ru Amein / Amen

El Malei Rachamim (Memorial Prayer) El Malei Rachamim shochein bamromim, hamtzei menuchah nachonah tachas kanfei hashechinah, bema’alos, bema’alos kedoshim, kedoshim utahorim, kezohar harekia mei’irim umazhirim, es nishmos acheinu B’nei Yisrael hakadoshim, hakedoshim vehatahorim, shenaflu bidei rotzchim venishpachu demom be’Auschwitz, Majdanek, Treblinka usha’ar machanos hashemam beEuropa sheneheregu,sheneheregu, veshenisrafu, shenisrafu venishchatu venikveru chayim bekol misos meshunos ve’achzorios al, al, al kedushas Hashem ba’avur she’anuchnu baneihem, ubenoseihem, acheihem,ve’achoseihem nodrim tzedakah be’ad hazkaras nishmoseihem beGan Eden beGan Eden t’hei menuchasam. Lachein Ba’al Harachamim yastiram beseiser kanafav le’olamim, veyitzror veyitzror betzror hachayim es nishmasam, Ad-noi hu nachalasam, veyanucham beshalom al mishkavam, venomar Amen.

English Translation:

God, full of mercy, Who dwells on high, grant proper rest under the wings of the Divine Presence— in the lofty levels of the holy and pure ones, who shine like the glory of the firmament— for the soul of our brothers the Jewish people, the holy and pure, who fell at the hands of murderers, whose blood was spilled in Auschwitz, in Majdanek, in Treblinka and the other camps of destruction in Europe, who were slain, burned, and slaughtered, and who were buried alive with extreme cruelty for the sanctification of the Divine Name. For we, their sons, their daughters, their brothers, and their sisters, will contribute to charity in remembrance of their souls. May their resting place be in Paradise— therefore may the Master of Mercy shelter them beneath His wings for eternity; and may He bind their souls in the Bond of Life. God is their inheritance, and may they repose in peace in their resting place. Now let us say—Amen.

HaTikvah (“The Hope”) – Israeli National Anthem Kol ode balevav P’nimah — Nefesh Yehudi homiyah Ulfa’atey mizrach kadimah Ayin l’tzion tzofiyah. Ode lo avdah tikvatenu Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim: L’hiyot am chofshi b’artzenu — Eretz Tzion v’Yerushalayim.

English Translation

As long as the Jewish spirit is Yearning deep in the heart, With eyes turned toward the East, Looking toward Zion, Then our hope —the Two-thousand year-old hope — Will not be lost: To be a free people in our land, The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

Victory by Sonia Schreiber Weitz I danced with you that time only. How sad you were, how tired, lonely ... You knew that they would “take” you soon ... So when your bunk-mate played a tune You whispered: “little one, let us dance, We may not have another chance.” To grasp this moment … sense the mood; Your arms around me felt so good … The ugly barracks disappeared There was no hunger …and no fear. Oh what a sight, just you and I, My lovely father (once big and strong) And me, a child … condemned to die. I thought: how long before the song must end There are no tools to measure love and only fools Would fail to scale your victory.* *Soon after this dance, Sonia’s father was taken away and murdered.

The Righteous Gentiles There, where the darkness was almost complete, our spirit defeated and crushed … A human cargo of twisted limbs rushed toward slaughter. Without food or water; in transport trains, in freezing rains— forgotten, alone—except for the few who simply cared, who somehow dared come close enough to help a Jew … These were Christian peasants who sometimes would throw bags of raw potatoes Into cattle cars through the iron bars of hopeless despair …

The following Haikus were written by Pingree students Kate Lucy, Grace Miller, Ally Haas, Victoria Holleran and Jackie Elward in response to the movie The Pianist. We thank Anna McCoy, their teacher, for her continued effort to explore the meaning of the Holocasut in her classrooms.”

Deportation Inspired by The Pianist Tip of the hat to you, my friend, nod to civility, as the world crumbles.

Deserted ghetto Broken windows tell stories That roar with silence

Bird cage in her hand Baby girl cries for mother As the whistle blows.

Beautiful baby, “I’m doing you a favor.” “Why did I do it?”

The filth of the streets, Bodies and suitcases lie, Never to be claimed.

Holding hands with her, “I wish I knew you better.” The large train whistles.

The end of the world arrives with a train whistle. I wish I knew you.

The whistle of death. One-hundred people in a space made for five cows.

The train rolling in Doors open, people squish on Never coming back.

Deserted scene. They are gone. Shipped away to their death. Emptiness.

“He’s dying please help” Looks, screams, crying, train whistle Crowded, filthy. Death.

In a crowded yard Hardship follows them everywhere Tears are always there, Like a sad storm in the air

Upstander Award Winner Zoey Metzner

Masconomet Regional Middle School, Grade 11

Upstander Honorable Mentions Denelis Acosta

Lynn English High School, Grade 12

Jason Celona

Peabody Veterans Memorial High School, Grade 12

Annlauren Djoko

Holten Richmond Middle School, Grade 8

Maya Evans