Friday I had the opportunity to participate in a Holocaust Educators training put on by the Anti Defamation League (ADL), USC Shoah Foundation and Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum of Israel. They distributed copies of Echoes and Reflections, a new multimedia curriculum on the Holocaust. This program allows teachers to choose as little or as much material as they can cover in a specific time period and still cover the subject matter effectively.
On page one, chapter one, they have used a quote from my dear friend, Holocaust Survivor, ninety-six year old Kurt Messerschmidt. Kurt is the brother of Henry Oertelt, my former mentor and author of An Unbroken Chain: My Journey Through the Nazi Holocaust. We have optioned Henry’s book in to produce a feature film based on the brothers’amazing survival story. Henry passed away earlier this year at age 90.
Bashert means “meant to be.” Sunday I attended a three day writer’s marathon sponsored by a non profit that I volunteer with called Scriptwriters Network. While I was there, I finally decided to send my script for a short film based on An Unbroken Chain to my writer’s group for our regular Monday meeting. That night, I talked briefly to Henry’s granddaughter, Corey. She told me that earlier that day the family had his unveiling in Minnesota, the day they put a stone at his grave. It was also her grandmother, Inge’s 87th birthday as well as the Oertelt’s wedding anniversary. Once again, I was amazed at the serendipity of this project as it (admittedly) slowly continues.
Granddaughter Corey, Inge, Henry, and Stephanie, Producer
Last night, I got feedback about the short from the other writers. I had told them that my husband’s family had unexpectedly recently donated a little money to the project – enough for us to film the short on a tight budget. One of our friends, Shannon, a freelance producer, offered to help us with the project, so I gave her an autographed copy of the book on Friday. When I got home last night, she had texted me. Henry was freed on May 8, 2011 which is Shannon’s birthday. Unbelievable! The Unbroken Chain continues. I hope to share news about producing our short very soon here in LA. Drop me a line at steph (at) 6mfor6m dot org if you would like to join our cast or crew.
For my Jewish readers, Happy New Year! It’s the year 5772. L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu (לְשָׁנָה טוֹבָה תִּכָּתֵבוּ) – This phrase is a customary greeting before the Jewish New Year and means “May you be inscribed for a good year (in the Book of Life)!”
We got to hear Holocaust Survivor, Ela Weissberger, speak Thursday night at the LA Museum of the Holocaust, where I’m a docent. She was an engaging speaker. Ela is one of the subjects of As Seen Through These Eyes, a film by Hilary Helstein, who also runs the LA Jewish Film Festival. As Maya Angelou narrates this powerful documentary, she reveals the story of a brave group of people who fought Hitler with the only weapons they had: charcoal, pencil stubs, shreds of paper and memories etched in their minds. These artists took their fate into their own hands to make a compelling statement about the human spirit, enduring against unimaginable odds. There are also other documentaries and features under way that are based on Ela’s unusual life story. Ela performed as “Cat” fifty-five times in Brundibar, the children’s opera in Theresenstadt, (or Terezin) ghetto in Czechoslavakia during the Holocaust. As a result, Ela was one of only 100 survivors out of 15,000 children at that camp.
Ela Reunites w/ Terezin Baby
The surprise of the evening was when one of the attendees asked Ela a question and indicated that she had been born in the camp. Ela responded that she only knew one pregnant woman, and said her name was Ishmar (sp?). The woman cried, “That’s my mother!” Ela looked dumbfounded as she realized that a baby of a family she knew during that terrible period had survived and made it to the U.S. Later she told us, these kind of coincidences happen to her all the time.
Yesterday, we attended the LA Opera Camp performance of Brundibar. Brundibar tells the story of a young brother and sister trying to buy milk for their sick mother. After witnessing an organ grinder earning money by making music in the town square, they decide to do the same thing but the greedy and unkind organ grinder drives them away. Ela told us that the mustache-sporting organ grinder was representative of Hitler. She said all the kids knew what the opera was really about and wasn’t sure why the Nazis allowed them to continue performing it, but they did. The Nazis filmed the performance as part of the propaganda films they were shooting to deceive the Red Cross as well as the rest of the world.
Brundibar performed by the LA Opera Camp
At the end of yesterday’s performance, Ela, who is one of only 2 remaining original cast members, got on stage and spoke to the audience and then sang along to the final song with the cast of local children.
I called my friend Henry Oertelt’s older brother, ninety-six year old Kurt Messerschmidt today, to ask if he had seen the children’s opera while he was at the camp and related the story of Ela’s reunion with Ishmar’s baby. He said that it was a miracle that the baby survived the conditions of being born into the camp. He had heard of it, but never seen Brundibar. He wished me well with our An Unbroken Chain film project and told me he was enjoying his summer. We were both sad as we remembered Henry, who died only this January at age ninety. Big Brother Kurt felt Henry should have cut back on his speaking sooner so that he might have had more energy and possibly lived longer. I don’t know, though. I think some of the Survivors who speak at the museum have more energy than anyone I know. Eighty-one year old Ela is a great example of that high energy. We were even told that she still loves to go dancing into the wee hours.
A student named Rachel Weronika shared this video of her photos of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and uploads from the Internet. Song: “Fear” by OneRepublic.
As you may know, I’m a new docent at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. I recently gave my first medium size public tour. I was pretty nervous, but I think it went well. I had between ten and fifteen people.
The museum is divided into major sections and takes the visitor through the events in chronological order:
The World that Was
Rise to Nazism
The Beginning of the War and Ghettoization
Camps
Resistance
Liberation and Post War Issues including Holocaust and Music
It seems crazy to try to explain the Holocaust in less than an hour. I kept encouraging my group to return with our complementary audio guides so they could get more detailed information. No matter what I point out, afterwards I always feel I missed something important. However, after the tour, I also thought, wow, I really have picked up where my “adopted grandfather” and mentor, Holocaust Survivor, Henry Oertelt, left off. He taught the lessons of the Holocaust by sharing his life story with schools, groups and all kinds of organizations in the Minnesota area for about 40 years. I hope he would be pleased.
One question that caught me off guard was: Was Hitler’s grandmother really Jewish? The museum’s answer: there is no proof of that, it’s still just a rumor. I thought it might be interesting to start to share some of the questions and answers that come up in my tour from now on.
Our museum is the oldest Holocaust museum in the U.S., however, we just opened a new permanent building last October. Typically a Holocaust Survivor speaks every day around 11am. We are located right in Pan Pacific Park near the Grove. Plan a trip soon!
I was fortunate to be invited to have lunch with Holocaust Survivors, other docents and interns who volunteer for the LA Museum of the Holocaust yesterday. Even though I’ve only given one tour by myself, I too, got upgraded from a “volunteer” to a “docent” badge and I will be spending the summer giving informal tours. Come by on Thursday afternoons and say hello.
My sister asked me if it isn’t depressing to keep telling the story over and over. I told her about the warm, giving people I’ve met at the museum – especially the Holocaust Survivors, who continue to share their stories to honor their families and friends who were killed. For me, it is exciting to go to the museum and get to participate in helping educate students and visitors. The museum will inspire people to stand up for what’s right and speak up. Yesterday, someone told me they think there are more good people in the world than bad. I hope they are right.
Holocaust Survivor Speakers Honored at LA Museum of the Holocaust
Ilaria our Education Coordinator
Mark Rothman the Museum's Executive Director
Holocaust Survivor Albert Rosa Displays His War Medals
A friend and I were happily surprised to see that First Congregational Church, is hosting their own Yom Hashoah services on Sunday, May 1, at 11 am at 540 S. Commonwealth Avenue in LA. Their ad quotes Dr. R. Scott Colglaizer, a senior minister, “I want to focus on the importance of remembering the Holocaust, and how we, as Christians, have a special moral obligation to make sure this will never happen again. Religiously motivated hate and inhumanity cannot be tolerated.”
Then, at 2pm, they are hosting a concert called Forgotten Voices, featuring Ryan Ross, who sings the works of Jewish composers exiled or murdered during the Holocaust. This special event is recognized by the Austrian, German, and Israeli embassies.
It is our job to teach acceptance and hope for the next generation.
