Inauguration of The Young Friends of the Jewish Holocaust Centre

Mandy Meyerson and Bianca Saltzman

Mount Scopus College Graduate

Mandy Meyerson and Bialik College graduate Bianca Saltzman teamed up with the Jewish Holocaust Centre at the beginning of this year to create a new organisation known as ‘The Young Friends of the Jewish Holocaust Centre’.

Inspired by their recent trips to Poland where they visited various memorial sites, death camps, concentration camps and other places of significance to Jewish life and to the Shoah, Bianca and Mandy realised that what was missing in the Jewish community in Melbourne was a strong connection between the generation of survivors, who have had a lasting impact on the community, and today’s generation of Jewish youth who do not have the same connection to the Shoah. The further we shift away from the years of the Shoah, the more detached we inevitably become, so that it is increasingly difficult for younger people to identify with the Holocaust as the most unprecedented genocide in history.

We believe it is imperative that the current generation – the last generation to witness firsthand accounts from survivors – realises the importance of its responsibility to keep alive the memory of the Holocaust. The proliferation of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism makes our task more urgent, as a future without survivors renders it increasingly difficult for subsequent generations to combat these evils.

Bianca and Mandy decided to establish ‘The Young Friends of the Jewish Holocaust Centre’ organisation as a way of addressing these issues. The Young Friends organisation aims to bridge the gap between the generations through various education programs and initiatives. Working with the Jewish Holocaust Centre, we have been involved in running programs to which the younger generation can relate, and which help motivate participants to learn and understand more about the Shoah. We have formed a committee of five young adult members – Mandy Meyerson, Bianca Saltzman, Jarryd Shaw, Gabe Chait and Justin Fulop – all of whom share the same passion for remembering the Shoah and combating Holocaust denial.