HR!Day639 - Thu 2/23/23 Echoes of the Holocaust II - with Ronnie Dunetz, Betty Brodsky Cohen, Irene Gruber, & Henry Grayman
- --- Humanity Rising Day 639 - Thursday February 23, 2023 (GoTo Bottom)
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Pope John Paul II commented on his 1979 visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, where at least 1.1 million people were murdered, 90% of whom were Jews: "No one is permitted to pass by the tragedy of the Shoah (the Holocaust). That attempt at the systematic destruction of an entire people falls like a shadow on the history of Europe and the whole world; it is a crime which will forever darken the history of humanity.” Eli Wiesel, the noted Jewish author, philosopher, humanist and Holocaust survivor said: “When you listen to a witness, you become a witness.”
The Holocaust (1933–1945) was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi German regime and its allies and collaborators. During the Holocaust 2/3 of European Jewry was murdered, 1/3 of all Jews in the world at that time. The Holocaust was a catastrophic trauma for Jews as well as a defining moment in Western history of the 20th century. It left an indelible mark on the lives of the survivors, whose legacy has been carried by their children, also know as the “Second Generation”. The children of survivors, who are today in the second half of their lives, are committed to telling the stories of their parents so that their legacy will be remembered and never forgotten. These two sessions will be dedicated to hearing their stories and the legacy they are committed to pass on to us all.
Convener:
- Ronnie Dunetz. I was born in the US in 1959 to an Israeli-born mother and a Holocaust survivor father, immigrated to Israel at the age of 21. I am currently a PhD candidate in Wisdom Studies at Ubiquity University, writing my dissertation on “Reflections of children of Holocaust survivors in their second half of life, on their life experience.” In my research I have interviewed 41 children of Holocaust survivors from 9 different countries. I have been a senior-level life & business coach for 19 years, a workshop leader, specializing today in the "sage-ing process": the harvesting of wisdom and meaning in life transitions during the second half of life. I have lived extensively in East Asia, pursuing traditional spiritual and internal martial arts through the years. My father, Max Dunetz, survived the ghetto, massacres, slave labor camp and Partisans of and around his native town of "Zhetl" (Dyatlovo), which is today Belarus. His parents, brother and sister were murdered in the Holocaust. He rebuilt his life in the US and Israel as a Jewish educator and journalist, preserving Yiddish language and culture and the memory of the Holocaust. I have created a film on my father’s testimony at the mass grave in Zhetl, which I have called “A Sacred Legacy”. It has been a defining story in my life. www.wisdom-opportunity.com.
- Dr. Betty Brodsky Cohen was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. and has lived in Jerursalem, Israel since 1986. She holds a doctorate in Clinical Social Work, is a trained family therapist, logotherapist, grief counselor, and is currently a Holocaust researcher as well. She is the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, her mother was from what is today Belarus and together with her younger brother, were the only survivors of their family. Her mother's story is one of courage and resilience and Betty is currently awaiting the publication of her upcoming book based on her mother's escape from the Novogrudok Labor Camp. Betty has proven that this mass escape through a hand-dug tunnel was the most successful known escape of he the Holocaust. Betty's father, the sole survivor of his family was from Ukraine, fled with the Russian army during the War. She grew up knowing very little of his story as he was willing to share very little of his pre-war or war-time experiences, Betty is still piecing together his history and that of his family from travel and archival material. She is proud to be Ronnie's first cousin.
- Irene Gruber. I was born in Passau, Germany in 1946, raised in Australia where I lived till the age of 24 when I immigrated to Israel after completing my law degree from Melbourne University. Both my parents were Holocaust Survivors from Poland and endured painful losses and suffering. My mother’s father and brother perished, my mother and grandmother survived Auschwitz together. My father's first wife and infant son were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz in 1942; my father experienced many adventures and acts of bravery throughout the years of the Holocaust. At a later stage, both my Parents wrote the stories of their experiences during the Holocaust years, for which I am forever indebted to them. I have always been very aware of my Parents' Holocaust history and feel that it is deeply imbedded in every cell in my body. I have been involved with the largest 2G organization in Israel and spend much of my time these days learning about the history of the Holocaust and telling the stories of my parents, mainly in local schools, to our soldiers and to as many other audiences who wish to hear these testimonies.
- Henry Grayman. My wife, Deborah, and I, co-facilitate the Second Generation (Children of Holocaust Survivors) Group in Vancouver, Canada. We both have a background in psychotherapy with children and families. My father, Abram Grajman, born in Lodz, Poland, survived 5-6 concentration/slave labour camps. Among many horrors, he witnessed the murder of his wife, Bella, and their two children, Lilly and Nadja. Rostock, Germany is where my mother was born. During the war, she was hidden in a convent in Berlin- she lost both her mother and father. My parents met at a dance put on by the Jewish community in Garmisch, Germany at an American base which became a quasi DP camp, in which I was born. In January of 1952, we arrived by UNRA boat to the port of Halifax, Canada. A train ride full of incidents, took us to Toronto, where I spent my formative years. Survival is relative term. While my father was now free in a new country, he suffered immensely both physically and mentally. At night, he would frequently cry out or scream. Yet the dogma of the Jewish community in Toronto in the 1950’s and 60’s was “Get on with your life, no one is persecuting you here.” PTSD had not been invented, until close to the end of the Vietnam War. Over many years, I have explored the impacts of growing up in a survivor household.
Co-convener:
- Jim Garrison, President, Ubiquity University
51 Participants
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Category
Community Peace & Justice
