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Ursula Bruce was only a child when her family fled Nazi Germany to South Africa in the 1930’s. When Ursula married and had her own family she became very involved in human rights and joined the Institute of Race Relations. Even Ursula’s son refused to join the South African military to protest the government’s racist policies. She reflects on her family’s relationship with Nelson Mandela, former South African president and anti-apartheid leader who died on December 5 2013. He was 95 years old.
Jewish Holocaust Survivor
Esther explains how cigarettes were obtained in her barrack in exchange for a shofar. She remembers the joyful feeling upon hearing the shofar blowing during a celebration of Rosh Hashana- the holiday commemorating the start of the Jewish New Year- in the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp.
Czech educators are gathering at the Academy of Sciences in Prague today to attend a conference dedicated to the "Ours or Foreign? Jews in the Czech 20th Century" project from the Jewish Museum of Prague.
United States army veteran Don Shimazu remembers the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor December 7 1941. He was a part of the ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) at the University of Hawaii and remembers being put on duty right away. A Hawaiian native, he also reflects on the tension the attack created in his family, since his parents were Japanese citizens.
Sid Shachnow has two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts -- and that's just for his service in Vietnam, where he led his troops with courage and distinction.
“There was no room for conscience,” he confides when discussing his 39 years of military service. “Once I was face to face with a Viet Cong. I had him in my sights as he ran toward me. He dropped his weapon and veered left. I did not pull the trigger. I still do not know if I did the right thing. My conscience got in the way.”
Barry Bruk speaks of the deteriorating living conditions in the Lódz ghetto, Poland, in late 1941. He remembers the deportation of thousands of Jews from the Lódz ghetto to the Kulmhof Death Camp in Chelmno, Poland, in January 1941 and relates that his sister, brother-in-law and young nephew were among those deported and killed in the camp.
Gussie Zaks recalls her arrival to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. She remembers the horrible camp conditions and how many women in her camp did not survive.