Holocaust

Yom HaShoah Observances Held Throughout San Diego County

I toured Holocaust observances at various venues in San Diego County, starting on Tuesday with a visit to Seacrest Village Retirement Community in Encinitas.  Among the residents are Charlotte Marx, who is the oldest at 104; Debby Stauber, Marguerite Morris, and Lee Drasnin.  They watched a video that was presented at Sunday’s Yom HaShoah observance at the Lawrence Family JCC, and shared with me their ideas for Holocaust education, awareness, and a permanent Holocaust museum. [Sandra Scheller]

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California, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Sandra Scheller, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Jewish Federation Joins National Effort to Support 25,000 Holocaust Survivors Living in Poverty

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — To mark Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Jewish Federation of San Diego has joined 40 community organizations across the country partnering with national funders, organizations and stakeholders to raise money to support the 25,000 Holocaust survivors living in poverty in the United States. “This is an inspiring opportunity, which builds

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Holocaust, San Diego County, USA

Sharaka Brings Expanded Arab Delegation to March of the Living as Part of Landmark Holocaust Education Program

JERUSALEM (Press Release) — Sharaka, a non-governmental initiative that grows the impact of the Abraham Accords by transforming the vision of people-to-people peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors into a reality, brought 22 Arab participants to this year’s International March of the Living in Poland as part of a first-of-its-kind year-long program that promotes

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Holocaust, International, Israel, Middle East

More Than 300 San Diegans Gather at Jewish Federation’s Community Holocaust Commemoration for Yom HaShoah

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — More than 300 people gathered April 16 at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center to mark Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. The event was hosted by Jewish Federation of San Diego and included a video honoring 70 years of Holocaust survivors in San Diego. A panel discussion featured a Holocaust

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Holocaust, San Diego County

A Short History of Holocaust Survivors in San Diego

The Holocaust did not simply end the day Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies.  Survivors torn from their homes, their families, and their health, needed to be nursed back into physical and mental health and resettled in countries where they would be accepted and given a chance to reconstruct their lives. One San Diegan who was intimately involved in this process was Army Lt. Al Hutler, a Jew whose compassionate administration of a Displaced Persons camp helped thousands of people make those adjustments. After leaving the Army, Hutler moved to San Diego where he served as the executive director of the Jewish Federation from 1946 to 1958. He was among those San Diegans who put out the welcoming mat for the survivors of the Nazi scourge. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, San Diego County

San Diego-Based Holocaust Survivor, 95, Returns to Auschwitz on Exclusive Mission

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — “What kept me going was my belief in G-d and the hope to be able to be reunited with my family,” said Ben Midler as he recalls his harrowing experience as a child at the Auschwitz concentration camp where his entire family was murdered. Now, at 95, the San Diego

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Holocaust, International, Israel, San Diego County

From the Holocaust to Santa Barbara: Stories of ‘Thrival’

By Eva Trieger SANTA BARBARA, California — As we celebrate Passover, the Festival of Freedom, it feels appropriate to write about a Holocaust documentary to which I was recently introduced. In 2008 filmmaker, podcast host and comedian, Louise Palanker teamed up with Jennie Reinish to bring us “We Played Marbles: Remembering a Stolen Childhood.” The

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California, Eva Trieger, Holocaust, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food