David Bayer remembers when Nazi Germany invaded his home country, Poland on September 1, 1939. David and his family hid in the woods during the invasion and returned to town a few days later to find German soldiers in their home.

Trudy Coppel describes how Jews were forced to wear the Yellow Star on their clothing in Nazi Germany. Trudy’s was considered Aryan, however her father was born Jewish and according to Nazi laws, Trudy and her brothers were Jewish and were forced to wear the Yellow Star beginning in September 1941.

In the spring 2014 issue of PastForward, Ervin Staub, professor emeritus and founding director of the doctoral program in the psychology of peace and violence at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, describes working with Rwandan genocide survivors.
As a result of a new partnership between USC Shoah Foundation and Mona Golabek’s Hold On to Your Music Foundation, students are able to interact with the beloved book The Children of Willesden Lane through the IWitness educational website.

Vera Gissing reflects on the German occupation of Czechoslovakia and her parents’ decision to send Vera and her sister on the kindertransport. Vera’s testimony is featured in the IWitness Activity, “From the Mother Who Will Never Forget You” – Understanding the Kindertransport.

A groundbreaking new exhibit at the Jewish Museum in Prague uses testimony from the Visual History Archive to explore the little-known fates of Jewish refugees in Bohemia and Moravia during World War I.

Max Wald describes the Galician refugee experience in Bohemia during World War I. Max was born in Berehomet in Bukovina and grew up in Sokoliki in Galicia. In September of 1914 the family escaped from the frontline and was gradually evacuated to Chrast u Chrudimi in Bohemia.

Michael Abend hopes his testimony will inspire future generations to be more tolerant of each other’s differences. He also adds that the young people throughout the world will recognize genocide warnings and work together to prevent violence against ethnic groups.

Summary:

Free and open to the public, monthly Institute visits give guests a chance to explore the life stories of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides and to discover how their memories are being used to overcome prejudice, intolerance and bigotry.

Description:

The “Oral History and Mediation” panel will present three unique research projects that each study a different aspect of giving and recording testimony.