Centre celebrates 27 years

One focus of the function was the launch of the ‘Preserving our Collection’ program. Jayne Josem, Curator and Head of Collections, spoke about the need to preserve and conserve precious artefacts, many of which are now 70 or 80 years old. Genia Janover, one of Australia’s foremost Jewish educators, then spoke, not as an educator, but as the daughter of Holocaust survivors. Genia, born in Munich, Germany after the Second World War, shared the story of her late father and his diary – the incredible way in which his story unfolded and the way in which his diary has been preserved.

Another focus of the evening was the opportunity to recognise the remarkable contribution of two Centre stalwarts, Phillip Maisel and Ursula Flicker, Holocaust survivors who have been instrumental in overseeing the Centre’s archival and testimonies’ collections. Those present were treated to video interviews with Phillip and Ursula, who were honoured by the official naming of the Centre’s archives and testimonies collection as ‘The Ursula Flicker Archival Collection’ and ‘The Phillip Maisel Testimonies Project’.

Helen Mahemoff, Chair of the Jewish Holocaust Centre Foundation, proposed the vote of thanks to Genia Janover, and Pauline Rockman, the Centre’s President, presented certificates to Phillip Maisel and to Rebecca Forgasz, who represented her grandmother, Ursula Flicker, who was overseas. The evening concluded with the lighting of six candles to honour the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.