Moving speeches mark March of the Living

Published on April 10, 2013

Spring came exceptionally late to southern Poland this year, the patches of snow along the railway track into the former Birkenau concentration camp a reminder that winter had begun to loosen its grip just two days earlier.

How the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum changed my life

By Michael Berenbaum
Published on April 3, 2013

My daughter, Ilana, then a young college student, asked if she could go with me to the opening of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, on April 22, 1993 (the date was tied to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising’s 50th anniversary). I said: “I will be leaving very early.” She responded: “I’ll be up.”

Survivor: Harry Magid

By Jane Ulman
Published on February 27, 2013

"The Jews are going to be taken from the ghetto and killed.”

Warsaw Jews want to trade historic building for new offices

Published on February 4, 2013

The Jewish community of Warsaw is advancing plans to demolish one of its historic ghetto-era buildings in favor of new offices.

Germany adds payments for ghetto survivors

Published on December 5, 2011

Following negotiations with the Claims Conference, Germany has agreed to loosen the criteria for payment to certain survivors of ghettos.

Ghetto survivors eligible for payment

Published on November 28, 2011

For the first time, some survivors of Nazi-era ghettos are eligible for a one-time payment from the so-called Ghetto Fund in addition to the pensions they receive from the German government.

Letters to the Editor: Muslims, Warsaw Ghetto, electric cars

Published on November 9, 2011

Letters to the editor

Survivor: Violet Raymond

By Jane Ulman
Published on November 2, 2011

Violet Raymond, then Ibolya Friedmann, and her new husband, George Singer, stood under a chuppah at Nagyfuvaros Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary, on May 27, 1944. She was 17, and he was 19. Three days later, George was ordered to report to Bethlen Ter 2, a labor camp housed in another of Budapest’s 22 synagogues.

Tracking a Warsaw ghetto fighter

By Tom Tugend
Published on November 2, 2011

I met Leon Weinstein, hale and hearty at 101, three months ago and listened to his dramatic recollections as a fighter and survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, one of the bravest chapters in modern Jewish history.

A Righteous Role

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on April 16, 2009

Anna Paquin was 11 when she won an Oscar for her performance in “The Piano” and in her mid-20s when she took the 2009 Golden Globe for her leading role in HBO’s vampire series, “True Blood,” but as she locked up her bicycle on a funky stretch of Abbot Kinney Boulevard the other day, she looked like just another young woman from the neighborhood. “Thanks for schlepping down to Venice,” she said as a greeting.

Not your average ‘schlub’—a memoir

Published on September 3, 2008

Max Gross, by his own admission, used to be your average schlub: He sported an unkempt Jewfro, the bottoms of his jeans were tattered and he'd gamely put a good burger before a diet.

Timeline: Jewish life in Poland from 1098

By Jane Ulman
Published on June 7, 2007

A Tale of Two Cities Divided

By Dina Kraft
Published on February 12, 2004

Kalkilya is surrounded on all sides by what Israel calls the separation fence, a barrier the government says it must build to protect its citizens from suicide bombers, snipers and other Palestinian terrorists.

Residents of Kalkilya say it has turned their city into a ghetto.

But Kfar Saba residents are solidly behind the wall.

The Other Venice

By Marilyn Zeitlin
Published on November 14, 2002

Venice is the famous city of romance, where boatmen serenade visitors with operatic arias in gondolas that glide through canals under charming bridges. Old buildings reflect in the water like an impressionist canvas of shimmering colors. Pink, red and orange blossoms hang from flower boxes on apartment windowsills, reflected in the water as exotic water lilies.

Come to the Cabaret

By Tom Tugend
Published on June 13, 2002

On Sept. 6, 1941, the Nazis crammed 20,000 Lithuanian Jews into the Vilna ghetto. On Sept. 9, 1943, the ghetto was liquidated and its remaining 12,000 Jews were marked for extermination.

Remarkably, during the two years of its existence, the ghetto supported a thriving theater, orchestra and cabaret, where patrons in their best finery laughed, wept and applauded, though they might be deported the next day.

A Miracle Reawakened

By Magnus Bennett
Published on June 15, 2000

The fading Hebrew inscriptions that adorn the walls of a small storeroom in the town of Terezin can be seen in virtually any synagogue around the globe.But thousands of Jews have been flocking to the recently discovered room because of its unique role in history - as a makeshift synagogue during the former Czech ghetto's darkest days.

“Anne Frank” for Teens

By Orit Arfa
Published on August 5, 1999

Contemporary Holocaust literature for young adults seems to favor a theme: transport unaware teenagers to German-occupied Europe and, together with the characters, the readers will emerge as more sensitive, aware young adults.

Art as History’s Witness

By Diane Arieff
Published on June 26, 1997

Paintings from Terezin are on exhibit at the Jewish Federation Building