Starting next week on Tuesday, May 4, the Claims Conference will participate in Liberation75, a global gathering of Holocaust survivors, educators, and leaders from across the Jewish world. This event is global, virtual and free. I must pay tribute to Claims Conference Board member Marilyn Sinclair who has been the driving force behind this fascinating project.

The week will include panel discussions with survivors and descendants; virtual exhibits and tours of historic sites and institutions including Auschwitz and Birkenau and the Anne Frank House; amazing keynotes from such notables as Claims Conference Special Negotiator Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, Prof. Yehuda Bauer, Dr. Ruth Westheimer and Canadian Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella; engaging breakout groups on topics such as Intergenerational Transmission of Resilience in Children & Grandchildren of Survivors, Trauma-Informed Practice with Aging Survivors, remembrance and other current and critical topics; and a film festival of more than 25 films honoring the Holocaust and featuring many Claims Conference funded films, including Son of Saul, Cheating Hitler and Who Will Write Our History. The speakers list is too long and impressive to fully list and I urge you click on the schedule and pick the topics that most interest you: To see the complete schedule of tours, keynotes and panel discussions planned for the week, click here.

As part of the kick-off for the week, Liberation75 will feature the Claims Conference #ItStartedWithWords campaign video. There will be a global moment of sharing, allowing everyone participating in the event to like and share the video across their own networks, simultaneously elevating the voices of Holocaust survivors around the world. Please be sure to tune in Tuesday, May 4 at 12pm ET and help us share survivor testimony about how the Holocaust started – with words. (For more about the #ItStartedWithWords campaign, click here.)

On Sunday, May 9, at 1:00 pm  ET, Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat will speak.  Immediately afterward, Claims Conference President Gideon Taylor will join me in a dialogue about the past, present and future of the Claims Conference and our work to continue ensuring care for Holocaust survivors and promoting Holocaust education around the world.

Other participants from the Claims Conference family include author, advisor on historical films and museum design, Professor of Jewish Studies at American Jewish University and member of the Claims Conference Film Committee, Dr. Michael Berenbaum along with film producer and a former Claims Conference Film Program Officer, Pelin Uzay who will join me in a panel discussion of the Claims Conference-funded and Oscar-winning film, Son of Saul. The film and follow-up panel discussion can be seen in Canada May 6 through 15. On May 4 at 2:00 pm ET, Claims Conference Historian, Dr. Joanna Sliwa will participate in a breakout session focusing on children in postwar Krakow, Poland, and how they experienced liberation and struggled to resume their lives.

Films being sponsored by the Claims Conference for the Liberation75 Film Festival include Son of Saul, Scandal in Ivansk, 116 Cameras, 1945, Who Will Write Our History, You Only Die Twice, and Cheating Hitler. Films will begin screening May 6 and run through May 15. Film festival participation requires additional registration. Click here for a look all 25 films being shown and more information about participating.

To see the complete schedule of tours, keynotes and panel discussions planned for the week, click here. To register for Liberation75 visit their website, https://www.liberation75.org/ or use the button provided below.

The agenda for the week is packed with great topics, interesting and educational events all free and all available from the comfort of your home. The Claims Conference is proud to be part of this gathering, the world’s largest international event marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation from the Holocaust. This commemoration is a great example of how, even during these uncertain and challenging times, we can still connect, educate and learn collectively.

I look forward to seeing you there,

Greg Schneider [executive vice-president of the Claims Conference]12

Click here to get your free virtual tickets to Liberation 75!

Articles of Interest

Holocaust Survivor and Jewish Author Elie Wiesel Engraved into Washington National Cathedral

The Washington Post

The sculpture of the late Holocaust survivor, whose writings famously turned suffering and existential angst into human rights activism, was completed on April 8, Holocaust Remembrance Day.

All Good News: OC Holocaust Survivor Celebrates Passion for Art on 100th Birthday

ABC 7 News

Desiree Engel has an incredible story, dating back to her days as a newlywed during WWII. When Germany invaded Yugoslavia, she says she spent four years in displaced persons camps, eventually leading her to America where she ended up in Fullerton.

Story of First Recorded Holocaust Testimony Revealed in New Podcast

Jewish News

Hela Goldstein was liberated from Bergen-Belsen on her 22nd birthday, and a new podcast explores how her testimony is likely the first ever captured on film.

Warsaw Unveils Monument to Secret Underground Archive That Documented the Holocaust’s Horror

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

A group of Jewish organizations has unveiled a monument marking the area where a group of Jewish writers and activists — known as Oneg Shabbat — buried an archive of material documenting their Holocaust experiences.

Oscar-Nominated Filmmakers to Produce Documentary on French Nazi Hunters Serge and Beate Klarsfeld

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Alexander Nanau, a Romanian filmmaker whose documentary “Collective” is up for both best documentary and best foreign film at this year’s Oscars on Sunday, will executive produce a film about the Klarsfelds, who have exposed Nazis around the world for decades.