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MandJZ
Time for Baby #2!
Member since 8/10 4194 total posts
Name: M
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Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
And especially in light of recent events (the shooting at two Jewish centers in Kansas, and rumors of Jews being told to wear identifying badges in the Ukraine) I think it is of the utmost importance that we continue to remember and to teach our children. The youngest of the survivors are aging and unfortunately passing away, and with them the last of the first person testimonials. My grandparents recorded their stories, but it is up to us to keep the memories alive, and to make sure the names, faces and stories are remembered and not just the numbers. Each of the six million Jews who perished had a story, as well as the millions of non-Jews who were persecuted and killed.
In my family alone, more than 35 people were murdered. My grandfather lost 21 family members, his entire family save for him and one cousin. His brother, both his parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents. Gone. He passed away almost 10 years ago, and on the day he passed his direct descendants (children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren) numbered exactly 21.
My grandmother was in a ghetto, and she escaped from the ghetto the night before the entire population was rounded up and taken to a concentration camp. She and 3 of her sisters paid a non-Jewish neighbor everything they had to hide under his barn, ankle deep in water, for 2 years. Her oldest sister routinely had sex with the neighbor in order to ensure that he did not rat them out to the SS. There's more, but it's too disturbing to share right now.
These stories are important, and real. Please feel free to share yours here, and please teach your children what this day means.
We shall Never Forget.
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Posted 4/28/14 12:31 PM |
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JME78
LIF Adult
Member since 11/09 3672 total posts
Name:
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Thank you for posting this!
I spent a summer in DC interning at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was a remarkable experience - particularly getting to meet so many of the survivors that volunteered at the Museum. Their spirit and drive to share their stories to make sure nothing like that ever happens again was so inspiring, I am so motivated to spread the word.
Sadly more survivors keep passing and soon there will not be any eyewitnesses left. That is why it is so important for kids to learn this history so it does not repeat itself.
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Posted 4/28/14 12:47 PM |
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LSP2005
Bunny kisses are so cute!
Member since 5/05 19458 total posts
Name: L
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Thank you for sharing your family story. My grandmother is also a survivor. She still speaks as a docent for the Glen Cove Holocaust Museum and goes to many local schools to share her story.
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Posted 4/28/14 12:53 PM |
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ElizaRags35
My 2 Girls
Member since 2/09 20494 total posts
Name: Me
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
I don't know too much about my family in the Holocaust except for this:
My grandfather had an Uncle (I believe) who was a well known photographer in the Lodz ghetto. There are books and lectures done about him. I've heard terrible stories about horrible things done to his family, including young children.
This link is about him.
Link to pictures - some are a bit graphic... just FYI
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Posted 4/28/14 12:55 PM |
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MrsA1012
love my little girl !
Member since 9/10 5777 total posts
Name: Me
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Thanks for posting this.
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Posted 4/28/14 12:57 PM |
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Ian&EmmesMommy23
My family is complete!
Member since 11/08 12970 total posts
Name: Diana
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
thanks for posting. my grandfather was in Auschwitz and my grandmother was in hiding in Poland. they both died when i was very young so i never got to hear their story.
my mom's neighbors, growing up, were both in the camps. in college i took a course and interviewed them. it was the first time they both spoke about the camps. he would tell me about how every morning they lined up and every other person was shot. he always happened to be that other person. when someone tried to escape they were caught and hung upside down by their ankles and whipped until they died. and in the meantime everyone had to walk around them in a circle and watch until the person was dead. she would tell me how she watched her cousin's newborn baby dropped from a building and how the women were raped by the officers.
my great aunt is in the documentary that Spielberg did but i haven't seen it yet.
when you said that you have 21 people in your family when he died...that gave me chills.
it scares me that there is still so much hatred for Jews.
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Posted 4/28/14 1:09 PM |
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ko123
My loves!
Member since 10/07 3002 total posts
Name: Kristin
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Thanks for posting. I've always had an "obsession" (for lack of better word) with the Holocaust and learning the history. I'm currently reading "The Lost Wife" by Alyson Richman, which is just amazing and I highly recommend it.
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Posted 4/28/14 1:11 PM |
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MandJZ
Time for Baby #2!
Member since 8/10 4194 total posts
Name: M
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Posted by IansMommy23
thanks for posting. my grandfather was in Auschwitz and my grandmother was in hiding in Poland. they both died when i was very young so i never got to hear their story.
my mom's neighbors, growing up, were both in the camps. in college i took a course and interviewed them. it was the first time they both spoke about the camps. he would tell me about how every morning they lined up and every other person was shot. he always happened to be that other person. when someone tried to escape they were caught and hung upside down by their ankles and whipped until they died. and in the meantime everyone had to walk around them in a circle and watch until the person was dead. she would tell me how she watched her cousin's newborn baby dropped from a building and how the women were raped by the officers.
my great aunt is in the documentary that Spielberg did but i haven't seen it yet.
when you said that you have 21 people in your family when he died...that gave me chills.
it scares me that there is still so much hatred for Jews.
Yes, the Spielberg documentary is the one my grandparents did, too.
The horrors of that time are too much for us to even fathom. I have a very hard time with this day, and with visiting the museums, especially since my grandfather died. My grandmother is no longer aware of herself or her surroundings, and some days she lives in happy memories while other days she relives those horrific years. I hope today is a happy day in her mind.
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Posted 4/28/14 1:11 PM |
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ko123
My loves!
Member since 10/07 3002 total posts
Name: Kristin
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Posted by IansMommy23
thanks for posting. my grandfather was in Auschwitz and my grandmother was in hiding in Poland. they both died when i was very young so i never got to hear their story.
my mom's neighbors, growing up, were both in the camps. in college i took a course and interviewed them. it was the first time they both spoke about the camps. he would tell me about how every morning they lined up and every other person was shot. he always happened to be that other person. when someone tried to escape they were caught and hung upside down by their ankles and whipped until they died. and in the meantime everyone had to walk around them in a circle and watch until the person was dead. she would tell me how she watched her cousin's newborn baby dropped from a building and how the women were raped by the officers.
my great aunt is in the documentary that Spielberg did but i haven't seen it yet.
when you said that you have 21 people in your family when he died...that gave me chills.
it scares me that there is still so much hatred for Jews.
I feel sick reading these stories. And yet this frickin really happened. Makes me sick.
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Posted 4/28/14 1:12 PM |
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ElizaRags35
My 2 Girls
Member since 2/09 20494 total posts
Name: Me
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Posted by ko123
I feel sick reading these stories. And yet this frickin really happened. Makes me sick.
Yup. And there are people out there who deny that it happened. Or are trying to make it or something like it happen again.
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Posted 4/28/14 1:16 PM |
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EricaAlt
LIF Adult
Member since 7/08 22665 total posts
Name: Erica
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Thank you for posting this. I am lucky that my family was in the US during the War, but there are some relatives on my mom's mother's side that thankfully just escaped to S America. My mom keeps in touch with the family through email. So scary what happened not even that long ago. Anti-Semitism is out there still. So sad
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Posted 4/28/14 1:23 PM |
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casey31
Mommy of 3!
Member since 5/05 2967 total posts
Name: Mommy to two boys and a girl
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Thank you for posting this.
My grandmother and grandfather got out of Poland and Germany in the 1930s and went to what was then Palestine, where my dad was born. All of their families- parents, siblings, cousins were killed in the holocaust. My grandma said that the letters just stopped coming. They believe it was Auschwitz.
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Posted 4/28/14 2:14 PM |
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hanna7636
LIF Adult
Member since 8/06 921 total posts
Name:
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
At work today I was with 2 guys that were saying horrible stuff about Jewish people. I said to them you know one of my parents is Jewish but they kept on talking. They were saying all Jewish people care about is money. I tried to reason with them but it didn't work
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Posted 4/28/14 2:42 PM |
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Tulips915
................
Member since 8/08 6851 total posts
Name: Me
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Posted by MandJZ
We shall Never Forget.
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Posted 4/28/14 2:49 PM |
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ElizaRags35
My 2 Girls
Member since 2/09 20494 total posts
Name: Me
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Posted by hanna7636
At work today I was with 2 guys that were saying horrible stuff about Jewish people. I said to them you know one of my parents is Jewish but they kept on talking. They were saying all Jewish people care about is money. I tried to reason with them but it didn't work
Disgusting.
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Posted 4/28/14 3:15 PM |
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StaceyWill
It's a girl!!!
Member since 6/10 21539 total posts
Name: Stacey
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
When I see/read 6 million Jews perished, I just can't wrap my head around it. 6 million!! It's horrific!!
Thanks for posting.
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Posted 4/28/14 3:18 PM |
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Mushesgirl
Too blessed to be stressed
Member since 4/09 6691 total posts
Name:
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Posted by ElizaRags35
I don't know too much about my family in the Holocaust except for this:
My grandfather had an Uncle (I believe) who was a well known photographer in the Lodz ghetto. There are books and lectures done about him. I've heard terrible stories about horrible things done to his family, including young children.
This link is about him.
IMAGE
Link to pictures - some are a bit graphic... just FYI
This was quite fascinating. I'm amazed the film survived and was not destroyed or seized. My grandmother was in the Lodz ghetto, along with all her family. I could've been looking at some of them. Her father was an orthodox rabbi who starved to death in the ghetto because he refused to eat unkosher food.
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Posted 4/28/14 3:19 PM |
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Mushesgirl
Too blessed to be stressed
Member since 4/09 6691 total posts
Name:
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Someone posted this video to the FB group "Generations of the Shoah International". If you have a half an hour, worth the time. Actual video taken by British army liberators:
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Posted 4/28/14 3:22 PM |
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Ian&EmmesMommy23
My family is complete!
Member since 11/08 12970 total posts
Name: Diana
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Posted by hanna7636
At work today I was with 2 guys that were saying horrible stuff about Jewish people. I said to them you know one of my parents is Jewish but they kept on talking. They were saying all Jewish people care about is money. I tried to reason with them but it didn't work
ignorant @ssholes.
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Posted 4/28/14 3:33 PM |
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BunnyWife
Insert Witty Comment Here
Member since 5/07 8274 total posts
Name: BunnyWife
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Posted by StaceyWill
When I see/read 6 million Jews perished, I just can't wrap my head around it. 6 million!! It's horrific!!
Thanks for posting.
11 million people total. The human capacity for evil is astounding….
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Posted 4/28/14 3:39 PM |
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Mushesgirl
Too blessed to be stressed
Member since 4/09 6691 total posts
Name:
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Posted by hanna7636
At work today I was with 2 guys that were saying horrible stuff about Jewish people. I said to them you know one of my parents is Jewish but they kept on talking. They were saying all Jewish people care about is money. I tried to reason with them but it didn't work
There'd be a complaint filed by me at the job
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Posted 4/28/14 3:40 PM |
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BunnyWife
Insert Witty Comment Here
Member since 5/07 8274 total posts
Name: BunnyWife
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Posted by ElizaRags35
I don't know too much about my family in the Holocaust except for this:
My grandfather had an Uncle (I believe) who was a well known photographer in the Lodz ghetto. There are books and lectures done about him. I've heard terrible stories about horrible things done to his family, including young children. [/L]
Really amazing photos. Thank you for posting...
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Posted 4/28/14 3:47 PM |
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WhatNow
Say Cheese!
Member since 1/06 8033 total posts
Name: A (formerly WhatNow?)
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Posted by StaceyWill
When I see/read 6 million Jews perished, I just can't wrap my head around it. 6 million!! It's horrific!!
Thanks for posting.
I always think: it could have been me and my kids! It could have been my children in those photos from the camps. All that separates us from those horrific times are some 60 years. It could have been us!
I always imagine those people, mothers with their kids... what would I do? Would I try to save my children? How?
It's all too horrible for us to even imagine and they actually went through it...
May we never forget!
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Posted 4/28/14 5:07 PM |
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mrswask
Pookie Love
Member since 5/05 20229 total posts
Name: Michal
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
My grandfather, his brother, and one of their cousins were able to escape Nazi Germany. The rest of the family perished.
I have not yet been to the Holocaust Museum in DC, but I did visit Yad Va'shem, the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Israel. I have also been to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. That was a defining moment in my life.
May We Never Forget.
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Posted 4/28/14 6:07 PM |
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mrswask
Pookie Love
Member since 5/05 20229 total posts
Name: Michal
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Re: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day
Thank you for posting the link to those pictures.
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Posted 4/28/14 6:09 PM |
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