Testimonies

The following presentations are first-person testimonies of Holocaust survivors or second generation family members.  An audience of 10 is required to add a GCH educator to introduce the program and answer questions afterward (via Zoom or Skype).  These presentations are only available upon request by completing the Request a Program form (see link above). 

 

Manuela Bornstein
Following the Nazi invasion of France in 1940, the Jews of France faced the cruelties of antisemitism.  Manuela recalls her story as she and her family escaped from Paris, avoiding the fate of some 13,000 French Jews who had been rounded up, and the family’s survival as hidden Jews in a small French village whose brave citizens exposed themselves to danger by keeping the family’s identity secret.  (90 minutes)

Gail Cohn
Gail Cohn shares the story of her father, The Honorable Judge Aaron Cohn, who was a Major in the 3rd Calvary Reconnaissance Squadron of the US Army during World War II.  His unit liberated the Ebensee concentration Camp in Austria on May 6, 1945.  After leaving the army in 1946, Judge Cohn resumed his law practice and continue a life service to others and sharing the lessons he learned from the Holocaust. (26 minutes)

Ben Walker
The story of a Romanian family deported to Transnistria after German troops infiltrated the area.  Ben survived family loss and sickness before emigrating to Israel, where he lived on a kibbutz and served in the Israeli army, then making his adult life in the United States.  (46minutes) 

In addition to in-person programs, The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust is pleased to provide a variety of web-based programming.  The following programs are pre-recorded with the option of a GCH educator available via a Zoom of Skype platform to introduce the program to your audience and take questions following the presentation. 

Click here to complete a Program Request Form. 

Educational & Topical Programs

The following programs are available on the GCH YouTube Channel where they may be viewed at anytime.  Complete the Program Request Form above if you would like to book a Georgia Commission on the Holocaust educator to introduce the program and take questions from your audience following the program via Zoom or Skype. A minimum of 10 people in your audience is required for an educator booking.

 

Antisemitism --
Part 1 - The Longest Hatred: A history of antisemitism from Roman times through the Middle Ages.  (17 minutes)

Part 2 -- The Longest Hatred: Historic Antisemitism Part II - covers from the Medieval period to the 17th century. (23 minutes)

Part 3 - Antisemitism from the 19th century to World War 2.   – (25 minutes)

American Witnesses:  African Americans and the Holocaust (34 minutes)
Stories of the unique experiences of African-Americans during the Holocaust in the United States and as soldiers and liberators in Europe.

Kristallnacht - (22 minutes)
What happened on the night of November 9, 1938 and what was its significance for the Jews of Europe?

Japanese-American Experience in WWII (31 minutes)
While the WW2 atrocities in Europe are well known, Japanese-Americans suffered endured unconstitutional discrimination, separation and loss in the United States.

The Circus, the Zoo & the Sewer

Part 1 - The Circus -- describes how German circus owner Adolf Althoff hid and rescued Jews in his traveling circus. (23 minutes)

Part 2 - How the Warsaw Zoo became a refuge for individuals escaping Nazi persecution. (10 minutes)

Part 3 - Story of Leopold Socha's efforts to save Jews in the sewers of Lvov, Poland. (18 minutes)

Resistance Fighters

GCH Educator Judy Schancupp tells three stories of very different people who sacrificed their safety and , in two cases, their lives, to fight back against the Nazis. Judy will share the stories of Abba Kovner, poet and resistance fighter in Poland, Roza Robota, prisoner in Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Walter Suskind, director of the Dutch Theater in Amsterdam.(35 minutes)

Art as Resistance - The works of six Holocaust artists are discussed as acts of resistance. The works of art are from the collections of Yad Vashem and other museums. (30 minutes)

American Citizenship Policies & Nazi Race Laws
Were the Nazi Nuremberg Laws restricting citizenship to "pure" Germans inspired by discriminatory policies used by the United States, such as Jim Crow laws? The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust explores this link. (20 minutes)

Myths & Misconceptions of the Holocaust - Was Adolph Hitler alone responsible for the Holocaust? Georgia Commission on the Holocaust Executive Director Sally Levine presents the ways in which many organizations and institutions enabled the execution of the Holocaust. (25 minutes)

Anne Frank’s 91st Birthday - In honor of Anne Frank's 91st birthday, a discussion about the enduring importance of her diary and the family's efforts to emigrate. (23 minutes)