Voices of Holocaust Survivors Wont’ Be Lost

Country singer George Jones once did a song titled “WHO’S GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES,” where he asks what is going to happen when all the “old” singers are gone. The Holocaust Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh faced a similar concern, and as the excerpt below from an article by Abby Gordon shows, rose dramatically to meet their concern.

The Holocaust Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh celebrated its 30th anniversary last week by releasing The Holocaust Testimony Project — a two-disc DVD set preserving the firsthand accounts of Pittsburgh residents who lived through that devastating time. The project consists primarily of survivor accounts, but also one liberator.

Edie Naveh, Iris Samson and David Cohen acted as executive producers for the project. Naveh actually began work on it while she was director of the Holocaust Center. She knew upon returning in 2005 for her second stint in the job that something must be done to preserve the authentic voices of the survivors before they’re gone.

“In 1988, there were 25 to 30 survivors that could go out and speak [about their experiences], and they were youthful and vibrant,” Naveh said. “By 2005, only a handful remained, and they were fragile.”

One challenge the project posed was deciding which stories to include. According to Holocaust Center Senior Associate Samantha Patty, the staff strived for a wide range of different people and experiences.

“That was a challenge because every story was amazing,” Patty said. “We really looked at all the stories we had from survivors and knew we wanted to have an across the board representation.

“I think we do a very good job of showing a 360 [degree] perspective of showing the survivor experience and a liberator,” she added.

These varied testimonies, Naveh said, are essential in educating young people about social justice and the need to stand up for anyone that is being bullied, and to take a stand against genocide all over the world.

Corrie ten Boom knew the importance of making sure that stories about the Holocaust live on, so she recorded hers in her book, THE HIDING PLACE.  The Jerusalem Prayer Team also knows the importance, and that is why they have done a virtual tour of the Ten Boom home in Ha’arlem, Holland, which is now a museum.  More importantly, you can emulate the Ten Booms, who prayed for the Jews for 100 years before WW II, by following the same directive they did - - the one found in Ps. 12:6 that tells us all to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  Visit the Corrie ten Boom Museum to learn more about the Ten Boom family.

To read Ms. Gordon’s article in its entirety, go to the Jewish Chronicle website: