Connections Newsletter October 2018

Dear Child Surivors, Welcome to our souvenir edition of Connections Newsletter December 2018.

Over the past two years the CSH group have participated in a portrait exhibition, anthology launch, panel discussions and the Quaker recognition ceremony. We felt it was time for a purely social occasion bringing together our members to catch up with the latest family news and happenings; and that is exactly what happened at our Sunday afternoon event. Dr Paul Valent the CSH founding President was our main speaker and reminisced with stories of the past years against a backdrop of nostalgic photos prepared by Lena Fiszman

Paul’s words follow to allow those not present to enjoy his thoughtful presentation.

As the CSH Chairperson I am grateful for the messages

of appreciation I received but also sad to hear the reasons why some of our CSH could not attend.

Life’s journey has a way of crossing all our paths one way or another and to those Child Survivors and their families who are unwell or trying to deal with the loss of loved ones; we send you are heartfelt wishes for an easier year ahead. Thank you to Mary Slade (JHC Board Director) for joining our group to lend a hand.

Thanks to our CSH official photographer Margarita Riaikkenen we have a delightful spread of photos to share with you all. The following pages will give you an idea of how good our next year’s celebration is going to be when the group turns 30 years old!!!

If you have changed your address or your contact details please let us know by phone to Lena, Office Manager at the JHC. Phone: 9528 1985, email: LenaF@jhc.org.au or email me at viv.parry@bigpond.com.

My best wishes to you all for a wonderful 2019.

Viv Parry, Chairperson, CSH

Child Survivors Group 29th Birthday

Thank you Viv, for your introduction, and devoted work. We’ve been going since early 1990, for 29 years. We were mainly in our 50s. Now we’re in our 80s. I’m not saying this to depress you, but to indicate how precious and rare we are. We are a miracle of survival. Less than 100,000 of us around the world, <6% of those born between 1930 and 1945. We estimate that we have about 500 child survivors in Melbourne, of whom 267 are registered in our group. What have we been doing? Our mission was expressed well by the mission of the World Federation of Jewish child survivors of the Holocaust

“We are the Jewish children of Europe persecuted during the Nazi era in ghettoes, in camps, in hiding, on the run or forced to leave Nazi occupied Europe. Our objectives are to keep alive the memory of 6 million Jews, including the 1 ½ million children, murdered during the Holocaust, and to pass on our legacy to future generations. We pursue these objectives by telling stories of our survival, community interaction, education and conferences.”

I would add, that as well as passing on our legacy and telling our stories, which we have done in an atmosphere of mutual trust, we have tried to understand our stories,

heal each other, and extend our understanding to others. We have given pools of frozen greyness shape, time, and words. Memories begin with words. Let us speak, so others will not need to remember the unspeakable. We have imbibed the words of others. We were privileged to have the two discoverers of child survivors visit usSarah Moskovitz in 1993 and Judith Kestenberg in1995. We heard Hedi Fried from Sweden, Edith Eger and Ervin Staub from America, Diane Armstrong and Ruth Wainryb from Sydney, Mirka Mora from Melbourne. There were many others, these are a few to jog our memories.

We’ve had many workshops on topics like Arrival in Australia, Growing up in a survivor family, Differences between sibling survivors, Children surviving hurt, Children remembering hurt, Transgenerational transmission of trauma, The Psychology of perpetrators, the last workshop in August this year was on Intergenerational Trauma. We have been aware of second and third generation children.

We provided words to others in our 4 anthologies, in the many of our members’ autobiographies, film Breaking

VOLUME 6 NO. 3 DECEMBER 2018

the Silence, SBS documentary, and many stories told to the press, Holocaust Centre and Shoah Foundation testimonies, our regular newsletters, researchers, some of us are guides in the museum, and others lecture to school children.

We have provided artistically through art workshops, Daniel Kogan Holocaust painting Eva Marks’s wall hanging displayed, last year a child survivor portrait exhibition We have maintained contact with our Sydney sibling group, and with the head body of child survivors in New York. We took part in the Claims Conference efforts for compensation, and we reached out to other traumatised children- Aboriginal, and those in migrant detention. Perhaps I’m idealising our achievements, but that is an old man’s privilege, especially at our annual party. In that vein I recall other parties, and our willingness to laugh as well

as eat.

With regard to eating, several Jewish women are having lunch at a restaurant. The waiter sidles up over to the table and asks, “anything right?’

I am nostalgic too; being a member of our hard-working committee of many years Danny Gross, Eva Marks, Eva Balogh, Floris Kalman, Bernadette Gore, Frankie Paper, Arie Kalman, Paulette Goldberg. Eva Balogh and Arie Kalman are no longer with us, among others. We remember them. I would like to thank Viv Parry who organised this meeting and whose devotion keeps us going.

Oh, and we have a future. Those of you who will be alive in 2064 will be able to peer into our time capsule and remember our doings from 50-80 years ago!

Dr Paul Valent

Compensation payments for child survivors of the Kindertransport

The Conference on Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) is pleased to announce that, resulting from negotiations with the German government, an agreement was reached on the 80th anniversary of the Kindertransport to provide compensation payments for child survivors of the Kindertransport.

The fund will open on January 1, 2019, and payments to those determined to be eligible will begin in winter 2019. Those eligible will be entitled to a one-time payment of 2,500 Euros.

This fund is open to Jewish Nazi victims who met the following criteria at the time of transport:

• they were under 21 years of age, unaccompanied by their parents and took part in a transport that was not organized by the German government in order to escape potentially threatening persecution by German forces;

• they were transported from somewhere within

the German Reich or from territories that had been annexed or occupied at the time;

• the transport took place between November 9, 1938, and September 1, 1939, or was approved by the German authorities after November 9, 1938, but before September 1, 1939.

The application form for the fund will be available to be downloaded by January 1, 2019, here: www.claimscon. org/apply

Please find a FAQs

Please contact:

Lana Khasin Acting Holocaust Survivor Support Officer

Jewish Care

Tel: (03) 8517 5629

Email: lkhasin@jewishcare.org.au

Web: www.jewishcare.org.au

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Child Survivors Group 29th Birthday pics

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Felicity Gnieslaw and Cesia Goldberg. Mary Slade and Viv Parry. Louis Roller, Albert Roller, Anne Korman. Viv Parry. Paul Valent. Julie Valent and Richard Rozen. Bernadette Gore. Maurice Hoffman and family. Cesia & Abe Goldberg Richard Rozen & Bernadette Gore. Celine Kay and Paulette Goldberg. Paul Valent and Paulette Goldberg.

Well Wishes

To all child survivors, their loved ones and friends, we wish you continuing health and happiness. To any of our CSH who are unwell at this time, please know we are thinking

of you and send our caring thoughts for a speedy return to good health.

Viv.

JHC Calendar of Events

Monday 24 December

Christmas Eve

Museum Open: 10.00am - 4.00pm/Office Closed

Tuesday 25 December & Wednesday 26 December

Christmas Day & Boxing Day

Museum Open 12pm - 4.00pm/Office Closed

Monday 31 December

New Year's Eve

Museum Open: 10.00am - 4.00pm/Office Closed

Tuesday 1 January 2019

New Year's Day

Museum Open 12pm - 4.00pm/Office Closed

Sunday 27 January 2019, 7.00pm

UN Holocaust Remembrance Day 2019

Keynote Speaker: Professor Marcia Langton AM

Venue: Glen Eira Town Hall

Glen Eira & Hawthorn Roads, Caulfield

Monday 28 January 2019

Australia Day

Museum Open 12pm - 4.00pm/Office Closed

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Louis Roller, Albert Roller, Anne Korman, Anne Handelsmann and Sarah Tamir. Sarah and Paul Grinwald with Paulette Goldberg. Rhona Zinger. Henry Buch and Bernadette Gore. Dita Gould and Paulette Goldberg.

United Nations Holocaust Remembrance Day 2019

Keynote Speaker: Professor Marcia Langton AM Foundation Chair in Australian Indigenous Studies, University of Melbourne

Australian standards on racial, ethnic and religious discrimination and vilification: do we have sufficient protection against the global rise of far right hate movements?

The commemoration, organised by the Jewish Holocaust Centre and the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, accords with the UN General Assembly 2005 resolution proclaiming 27 January, the day in 1945 on which Auschwitz was liberated, as the annual international Holocaust Remembrance Day.