Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, is a relatively new
addition to the calendar. It is set aside by Jews and others around
the world to remember the six million victims of Nazi Germany’s
genocide which occurred before and during World War II.
Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, is a relatively new addition to the calendar. It is set aside by Jews and others around the world to remember the six million victims of Nazi Germany’s genocide which occurred before and during World War II.
In Israel the day is an official public holiday which falls on the twenty-seventh day of the Hebrew month of Nissan, April 18 this year. Throughout the country places of entertainment are closed, candle-lighting ceremonies are held, memorial prayers are said, and sirens blow announcing two minutes of silence observed to reflect on this great tragedy.
On Sunday, April 25, in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the renowned author Alicia Appleman-Jurman will be speaking at a free program sponsored by Congregation Emeth, South County’s Jewish Community. It will be held at the Carden Academy Building, 410 Llagas Avenue in Morgan Hill from 1:30 to 3:30.
Ms. Appleman-Jurman wrote the remarkable narrative of her life in “Alicia: My Story,” a book which has received five-star reviews on Amazon.com. She has lectured extensively at colleges, high schools, and forums for teachers; Sunday’s presentation is recommended for children ages 10 and over.
Alicia grew up in Buczacz, a city in Southeastern Poland. She was nine years old when Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and the city came under Russian domination. Her older brother, Moshe, took up an offer to travel to Leningrad to attend school. A year later he returned home gaunt and frightened, explaining to his parents that his so-called schooling was really forced labor. When captured by the Russians, they imprisoned him, and he died shortly thereafter.
Appleman-Jurman’s autobiography goes on to tell the fate of her father. When war broke out between Germany and Russia, the Nazis seized control of Eastern Poland and confined the Jews of Buczacz to a ghetto. Six hundred men of the city, leaders of the Jewish community, were killed by firing squads; Alicia’s father was among them.
The remainder of the book is a gripping tale of survival as death engulfed the world around her, including the remainder of her family. It is full of adventure: prison escapes, killing squads, and acts of heroism for which Alicia was awarded a medal by the Russians.
Appleman-Jurman’s lectures inspire her listeners. She hopes that her talk in Morgan Hill “will help strengthen today’s youth by imparting a better understanding of the true history of my entire generation.”
Her hope is that her words may help people “resolve that evil forces will never again be permitted to set one people against another.”
The author will accept questions from the audience after her talk, and copies of her book will be available for purchase. Before the program lunch will be available (from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.) for a cost of $5 per person, with all proceeds donated to children’s education.
For more information call 847-4111.
Chuck Flagg teaches English at Mt. Madonna High School. Write him c/o The Dispatch, P.O. Box 22365, Gilroy, CA 95021.
