Zikaron Holocaust Commemoration in 2022:
Terry Swartzberg reports
2022: first full year of operation:
Zikaron Holocaust Commemoration:
Facilitated 55 Holocaust commemoration and religious events in Germany –
new forms of remembrance and participation
Set forth trailblazing work with the young
Conducted lecture tour in Israel in December
Celebrated 10th anniversary of my “kippa experiment”
Participated in podcasts with organizations in the USA and Israel
Awarded 501 c (3) status
2023Placement of 100 Stolpersteine in Munich
Shabbats-for-all on squares and in schools
Lecture tour in the USA in June
Working relationship with Yad VashemShalom chaverot ve chaverim, dear friends,Toda raba and thank you for your support and interest. Thanks to it, we at Zikaron Holocaust Commemoration and our partner organizations in Germany staged in 2022 the following events:
6 placements of a total of 45 Stolpersteine in Munich – 45 persons rescued from being forgotten. 45 reasons to fight against antisemitism, racism and hate. We know where and what they lead to.
Worldwide outreach for the Stolpersteine. Keeping the media informed and the social media replete with information on the Stolpersteine and the stories of the victims and their families. #StolpersteineFamily
Faces for the Names in Munich and in other cities in Germany, with this especially including the eastern German city of Nordhausen, which is being roiled by demonstrations by the ultra-right and crazies. Faces for the Names: projecting photos of the victims on to the buildings in which they lived, worked and suffered. Reading of their biographies. Performing raps written in their honor.
Public celebration of shabbat on the site of the former synagogue in Nordhausen. Attended by over 100 people.
“Mobile commemoration”. Pop-up commemoration stand placed at Munich’s most frequented squares. Bringing commemoration to the people.
Work with the young – juniors from Munich’s Montessori high school, students at the LMU University and others. The result: a stream of raps, videos, poems and research on the Holocaust and its victims.
The high point: “Bringing them back”. November 25th. Commemorating the 998 Munich Jews killed in Kaunas, Lithuania on November 25, 1941. Performance at Munich’s Philharmonic by our young persons.
Here are the incredibly moving videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYZRps-NLkA&t=4s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvm864DFVXs&t=6s
The raps composed and created by Martin and Eloy, 16 years old, on the Stolpersteine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8KJzDYyOSw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLrIbhCWSaM
Talks and meetings in Israel
In November and December, I spoke on the Stolpersteine, Faces for the Names and my kippa experiment at Bar Ilan University and at synagogues in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I met with our dear friends and Holocaust survivors Nathan Diament and Michael Smuss – the last surviving hero of the Warsaw Ghetto.
While in Israel, I set forth my close working relationship with Yad Vashem. Stolpersteine for the murdered artists Felix Nussbaum and Charlotte Salomon are on display at its Museum of Art from the Holocaust. I arranged that.
The next step: working with Yad Vashem’s International School of Holocaust Studies. Initial discussions are now taking place on this new and very exciting working relationship.
10 years! 3652 days of wearing a kippa in public
While in Israel, I celebrated the 10th anniversary of my “kippa experiment”. On December 1, 2012, I put a kippa on my head and headed out on to the streets of Munich, Germany, Europe and the world.
To prove to myself that I am safe as a Jew in Germany. Ten years later: many heartwarming, even amusing experiences. Not a single bad one. Recognition from the government of Germany. More than 20 of my kippot are on display at museums in Germany.
The tenth anniversary of my “kippa experiment” – as it is referred to in Germany – was widely covered by the media.
My “kippa experiment” is becoming more and more important:
Deeply troubling incidents of Antisemitism in the USA. Lack of knowledge on and interest in the Holocaust.
These events and trends redoubled my determination to raise awareness in America of the most momentous and gladdening developments in commemoration in Europe.
Toda raba Chuck Newman, Noemi Herzig, Phyllis Zimbler Miller, Rabbi Beth Janus, my cousins Linda Zlotoff and Gary Yale, my old friend Stuart Mukamal and others. Thanks to your efforts, I participated in a number of podcasts during the year. And will be holding workshops and talks in June in the USA.
Please contact me at shalom@holocaustcommemoration.com to be part of this.
In June, Zikaron Holocaust Commemoration was awarded 501 (c) (3) status.
We do it with you!
A big shout out to Gary, Gene and Elizabeth, Stuart, David, Anny and the others whose generous donations will fund my lecture tour in June (dates and venues to follow).
To support our work:
See you in June!
Terry
We will never forget. Never. Ever. Not a single victim.