Tag Archives: California

Mapping Auschwitz today in LA for International Holocaust Remembrance Day & Survivor Henry Oertelt’s Yahrzeit

27 Jan

Today is Author and Holocaust Survivor Henry Oertelt’s Yahrzeit – the one year anniversary of his death. He died at age 90 after speaking about his experiences surviving the Holocaust for almost forty years. Coincidentally this is also International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

I optioned Henry’s book, An Unbroken Chain: My Journey through the Nazi Holocaust when he was eighty-seven years old. I knew that time was of the essence. After we came to an agreement, we traveled to Minnesota and met him in person with the rest of his family one memorable September weekend.

Henry read my first draft of the screenplay adaptation of his book and gave us his blessing for the project. After a few years of research, I started volunteering at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust as a docent. Then, the Museum recently came on board as our fiscal partner, giving us credibility and more exposure. After a few years of fundraising, we came up with enough money to produce a high quality short film. We felt this was better than doing nothing. If this film moves people, it could still evolve into a feature length film.

We are now in postproduction with our short film with the working title, Bashert – which means “Meant to Be.” We look forward to sharing it with everyone in the coming months.

Additionally, to commemorate this important day in history, the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust and their community partners will mark an area the same size as Auschwitz around Los Angeles with a flash event.

To participate, go to their map (sign in with your Google account) and pick your location to participate in this exciting event.

You can also sign up for our text message alert which will update and inform you about Mapping Auschwitz news. To join, text the phrase mapLA to 25827.

Check out the museum website to learn more.

Take a Tour at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust

15 Jul

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!

First Congregational Church offers Yom Hashoah service Sunday May 1

29 Apr

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.

Honor Survivors in Your Area May 1

20 Apr


Yom Hashoah takes place this year on May 1. If you are going to be in LA, consider attending the community wide Holocaust Remembrance Day at 2:45pm at the LA Holocaust Monument in the north end of Pan Pacific Park between Beverly and Third Street. From our experience, there’s nothing more inspiring than visiting with Holocaust Survivors. Most of them are now in their eighties and nineties, but have hardly slowed down, especially with their volunteer efforts and continued pledge to Holocaust Education. There should be several of the museum’s popular speakers in attendance.

The program, In their Own Words, Diaries from the Holocaust, will feature John Loftus, a former U.S. government prosecutor and Army intelligence officer, Nazi hunter and the author of several books, including Belarus Secret: The Secret War against the Jews and his just released, America’s Nazi Secret with new revelations about American funding of the Nazis and government cover ups.

There will be shaded seating for all attendees.

Speaking of shade, there’s a Yom Hashoah ceremony in Phoenix, at Congregation Beth El (the image from last year’s service.) The Phoenix program, titled, “We are a People of Memory” will be featuring Rabbi Bonnie Koppell at 3pm, also on May 1. Each year in Phoenix, the Survivors carry candles in a procession to start the service. We will be filming this community service for the third year in a row and consider it an honor and a privilege.

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