Holocaust Remembered

The Columbia Holocaust Memorial in Memorial Park, Columbia, S.C.

Curated by the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust

Copyright 2023 South Carolina Council on the Holocaust

All rights reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including electronic storage and retrieval systems, without express prior written permission of the publisher, except for brief passages excerpted for review and critical purposes.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023923650

Book design by David Halloran

Southern Luxury Publishing

southernluxurypublishing.com

The World Today

BY MARK WEITZMAN

As I am writing these words, the recent murder of 1,400 Israeli civilians by Hamas terrorists is still fresh in mind. This massacre, the equivalent of killing 40,000 Americans in one day, led a prominent Holocaust scholar to write that the Holocaust became the “default frame of reference” for the October 7, 2023, massacre. Or, to put it in another way, the idea that we are living in a “Post-Holocaust World” does not stand up to our reality. The Holocaust may have ended in 1945, but it’s impact still shapes and resonates in our world.

It is not only the jarring reappearance of Nazi genocidal antisemitism or of the swastika as a symbol of political discourse and protest in Europe and the United States that reminds us of the hate that tore apart the world less than a hundred years ago; but it is also the attacks on the structure of democracy itself that reaffirms the need to study and learn about the Holocaust.

The Holocaust originated in Weimar Germany, a constitutional republic that was considered one of the most cultured and yes, civilized countries in the world. Its institutions of higher learning, its artistic, intellectual, and scientific elites were the leaders in their fields. And yet the final products of that society were, in the memorable phrase of the late Methodist minister and scholar Franklin Littell, “technically competent barbarians” who specialized in genocide.

Supreme Allied Commander and future US President Dwight D. Eisenhower summed up the revulsion and resolve Americans felt when they saw the death camps and the results of 12 years of rule by the Nazis and their local collaborators. Eisenhower famously said in words inscribed on the walls of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: “The things I saw beggar description. … The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering as to leave me a bit sick ... . I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in a position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to ‘propaganda.’”

The presence of the survivors and liberators in South Carolina is rapidly diminishing, yet their accounts and testimonies are needed more than ever. The South Carolina Council on the Holocaust has taken on the urgent responsibility of ensuring that their legacy is nurtured and transmitted to future generations, and this anthology of 10 years of educating South Carolinians about the Holocaust through personal and family stories is an invaluable resource in that effort. I hope that this anthology will enable a new generation of South Carolinians to engage with and learn from the Holocaust in order to create a better present and brighter future for all.

Mark Weitzman

Mark Weitzman is the Chief Operating Officer of the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) and the senior U.S. delegate to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). His most recent publication is The Routledge History of Antisemitism.

“I hope that this anthology will enable a new generation of South Carolinians to engage with and learn from the Holocaust in order to create a better present and brighter future for all.”

Introduction of Publication: Holocaust Remembered

Welcome to the 10 year Holocaust Remembered anthology, a compilation of all editions from 2014-2023, which can be read, reviewed and discussed. These editions were made possible from the contributions of Survivor and Liberator families and individuals who experienced and witnessed the Holocaust. Additionally, scholars and academics were approached to write articles pertaining to the individual themes assigned each year. It was paramount that these stories of those who lived or are living in South Carolina be memorialized not only through verbal testimonies—which can be found on the websites of both the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust (www.scholocaustcouncil.org) and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (www.ushmm.org)—but also written and published in papers that the public could read. Discussing and teaching the lessons on the Holocaust is the best way to educate the school teachers and the public. Reading and hearing Survivor/Liberator oral histories helps the public understand the dangers of antisemitism, bigotry and prejudice. Museums and Centers, Council and Commissions have been built throughout America for this purpose.

On October 7, 2023, the entire Holocaust Education field was shaken up. Israel was attacked and the world changed. Dr. Shay Pilnik, director of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Yeshiva University, aptly stated: “The stance of relative tranquility from which we have viewed the Holocaust can no longer be divorced from its original and crucial Jewish context.” He goes on to say, “Now Holocaust education … must return to what it should have always included—a call to safeguard the lives, well-being, and future of Jews in the world, and first and foremost, in the ancestral homeland.” As I continue to edit the Holocaust Remembered editions, the emphasis on Jewish safety will need to be stated over and over.

Antisemitism, Jew hatred, which was exhibited in the attacks on October 7, is the longest hatred of civilization and continues to rise in both rhetoric and action. The Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation, Dr. Robert Williams, stated: “At the end of the day, antisemitism is a binding form of hatred that pulls together a wide range of extremists. That is why we all, Jewish and non-Jewish, must commit to fight against antisemitism.” The virus of conspiracy theories has become overwhelming in our lives. The vaccine for antisemitism is to continue professional development for the teachers so that in turn the students will understand this hatred. This includes protecting the well-being of Jews around the world—especially in Israel—and to speak the truth to all.

As a daughter of Holocaust Survivors Jadzia and Ben Stern (obm), I have committed my time and passion to this educational project. I extend a special “thank you” to all that participated in these editions. There have been many and through your commitments, we saw the birth and growth of this project. As Editor, I proudly present the Anthology of the first 10 years of Holocaust Remembered 2014-2023.

Lilly S. Filler, MD Editor Holocaust Remembered Chair South Carolina Council on the Holocaust

Message from the Executive Director

This anthology of the Holocaust Remembered supplement spanning the first 10 years of its publication, from 2014–2023, provides an essential contribution to the understanding of the Holocaust to people in South Carolina and beyond. Containing over 200 scholarly articles, including many that are personal stories of those that experienced the Holocaust directly, this impressive volume is a testimony to the dedication of Dr. Lilly Filler, the Columbia Holocaust Education Commission, and the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust in keeping the memory of this historic event alive almost 80 years after it ended in 1945.

As the Executive Director of the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust, I am entrusted with carrying out our organization’s mission to educate teachers, students, and communities through teaching, outreach, resources, and commemoration. The Holocaust Remembered supplements have been a significant annual contribution to the efforts to accomplish all parts of this mission.

Throughout the decade of these publications, we have received positive responses from teachers who have often requested additional copies of the supplements to use with their students. Additionally, community organizations of all affiliations and religions have sought out this resource as an important tool to use to educate their members and respond to the commitment to “Never Forget.” I encourage all who receive this publication to not only take the time to read through the articles contained in this anthology, but also to reflect on the importance of remembering and understanding the Holocaust. As Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize honoree Eli Wiesel stated: “To forget would be not only dangerous, but offensive. It would be akin to killing them a second time.”

While this statement reminds us of those whose lives were horrifically ended by those who perpetrated this heinous crime against humanity, we must also remember the heroic efforts of those who survived against all odds and those who helped to liberate these victims from the grips of their oppressors. It is from these individual stories that we come to appreciate not just the evil that some chose to commit, but also the remarkable will to live of others and additionally the goodness that some exhibited to reach out and assist those most in need.

This anthology provides a resounding answer to generations of victims’ families wondering if the stories and importance of this event will be forgotten to history. We shall never forget.

Scott Auspelmyer Executive Director South Carolina Council on the Holocaust

Dedication

To my beloved mother and father, Jadzia and Ben Stern (obm).

Your love and presence is always felt. Your words are with me forever!

— Lilly

Circa 1946

Germany 1948 with baby Lilly

1993

“We are told that the American soldier does not know what he is fighting for. Now, at least, he will know what he is fighting against.”

—

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, on visiting a subcamp of Buchenwald, April 12, 1945

“The dagger of the assassin was concealed beneath the robe of the jurist.”

— Telford Taylor, American Military Tribunal prosecutor Jurists’ Trial, Nuremberg , Germany, 1947

“Indifference, to me, is the epitome of Evil.”

— Elie Wiesel Holocaust Survivor, Nobel Peace Laureate, author, activist

“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky.”

— Elie Wiesel Holocaust Survivor, Nobel Peace Laureate, author, activist Excerpt from Night, 1956

“At the end of the day, antisemitism is the binding form of hatred that pulls together a wide range of extremists. That is why we all, Jewish and non-Jewish, must commit to the fight against antisemitism.”

— Dr. Robert Williams Director of University of Southern California Shoah Foundation

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

— Maya Angelou, 1997 Poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist

2020

“We will accomplish a mission that the victims have assigned to us: to collect memories of tears, fragments of fire and sorrow, tales of despair and defiance and Names, above all Names. What we all have in common is an obsession not to betray the dead we left or who left us behind. They were killed once. They must not be killed again through forgetfulness.”

— Elie Wiesel Holocaust Survivor, Nobel Peace Laureate, author, activist

“Female leadership during the Holocaust is evident in the work of non-Jewish, anti-Nazi, and Jewish resistance and partisan groups…such as Sofie Scholl in the White Rose movement.”

— Dr. Jeff Eargle Professor

University of South Carolina

2022

“The Third Reich committed cultural genocide on top of the physical genocide of six million Jews.”

— Marc Masurovsky Historian and Co-founder Holocaust Art Restitution Project

2023

“Memory is for us, history is for others.”

— Dr. Lilly Filler, Editor Holocaust Remembered

Who We Are

SOUTH CAROLINA COUNCIL ON THE HOLOCAUST

In 1989, the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust was created by the S.C. legislature. The legislature also provided funding for the Council so that commemorative programs, professional development and Holocaust resources would be available to the S.C. community. The S.C. Council on the Holocaust (SCCH) provides educational programs about the systematic genocide of six million Jews and others in the Holocaust to help prevent such atrocities from happening again. Our work seeks to honor the Survivors of the Holocaust and the Liberators who call South Carolina home.

The composition of the Council is determined by the Governor, Senate Pro temp, and Speaker of the House. Each politician appoints four members to the Council for two years, which can be renewable. The members are from throughout the State and have an interest/knowledge of the Holocaust. They are often called upon to be Speakers for commemorations or at schools, churches, and other organizations. Professional development is offered to teachers interested in Holocaust education and includes seminars, books and book reviews, scholarships to students, financial grants to teachers for their classrooms, tours of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Eastern European tours to name a few. The Executive Director of the Council is Scott Auspelmyer and the Educational associate is Elizabeth Stiles.

Several years ago, a “lay” program was instituted in which the Council would invite another entity or organization to become a partner with the Council. In most cases there are overlapping missions and interest for both. We are proud to announce the Partners of the Council: Selden K. Smith Holocaust Education Foundation, Anne Frank Center, Historic Columbia, Sumter County Museum, Columbia Holocaust Education Commission, the Charleston Remember Program, and the S.C. Department of Education.

South Carolina Council on the Holocaust members:

Chair

Lilly Filler, MD Vice Chair

Denise Deveaux Treasurer

Marla Palmer Secretary Brian Day

Leah Chase, Eileen Chepenik, Dr. Melinda Menzer, Dr. Adam Pitluk, Dr. Johannes Schmidt, Dr. Federicka Clementi Schoeman, Joe Wachter, Margaret Walden

The Council is committed to providing the South Carolina Community the resources, speakers, and time needed to help educate the public against antisemitism, racism, bigotry, and hatred. To learn more about the S.C. Council on the Holocaust, please visit www.scholocaustcouncil.org.

Governor Carroll Campbell signing the proclamation of the forming of the council in 1989

Origins

The early narrative for the Holocaust Remembered editions began in 2000. Both of my parents, Jadzia and Ben Stern (obm), were Holocaust Survivors, were married in 1946 after the war, and had a child, Lilly (me), in 1947. I am the oldest of four children and we lived a happy and comfortable life. After the death of my father, I struggled with how I would honor and memorialize his life. I pondered various things that I felt he would have enjoyed. My mom was in the final throes of advanced dementia and could not help me with ideas. What I did know was that both parents, at some point in their lives, had wanted to see a Holocaust Memorial in their adopted home city, Columbia, S.C. My mother had chaired a committee in the 1980s where themes and locations were discussed, but the project stalled. My father raised money in the 1990s but then had to concentrate on the caring of my mom.

My father died on my birthday, December 6, 1999. Within six months of his death, I had decided to honor the previous work of both parents, and establish a Holocaust Memorial in Columbia. On June 6, 2000, a committee was formed with members of the Jewish community: with collaboration of the City of Columbia and Columbia Council; with an alliance with the University of South Carolina (they were celebrating their bicentennial); and a partnership with Fort Jackson, the home of almost all Army recruits in America. The committee worked hard and received generous contributions for the project. On June 6, 2001, exactly one year after the committee was formed, the Columbia Holocaust Memorial was unveiled. The event was filmed by S.C. Education Television and they continue to air the event every spring. Over 500 people attended the unveiling, despite a light rain.

Speakers included S.C. Governor James Hodges, Columbia Memorial Committee Chair Dr. Lilly Filler, Columbia Mayor Robert Coble, Fort Jackson Colonel Scott Nahrwold, USC Vice President and Provost Dr. Jerome Odom, Holocaust Survivor Bluma Goldberg, and Liberator John Drummond. The Memorial was unveiled by the grandchildren of Survivors and Liberators. It was a beautifully perfect day. I knew the correct decision had been made in honoring my parents, and two weeks later, my mom passed and joined my father in the heavens.

Unlike most projects, there was more money raised for this Holocaust Memorial than was needed. The remaining money was used to create the Columbia Holocaust Education Commission. The Commission’s mission was to provide resources to Columbia teachers and others pertaining to the Holocaust. There was a speaker’s bureau, a Holocaust exhibit, grants provided to teachers and the start of the Holocaust Remembered editions. The first edition was published in 2014 and distributed through the McClatchy paper in Columbia. As its popularity grew, more distribution was obtained. In 2022, the project was supported by the S.C. Council on the Holocaust and had state-wide distribution in all three major publishers in the State: McClatchy, Gannett, and the Post & Courier.

When 10 editions were completed, it was decided to combine them in an anthology that could be used as a reference and teaching tool. It is wonderful to see this come to fruition. Thank you! Ten years, 10 editions about the Holocaust: telling the stories of Survivors that immigrated to South Carolina, those South Carolinians that fought in WWII and liberated or witnessed the Holocaust, and varying themes related to the Holocaust. It has been one of my greatest joys to see how important this publication is to the general public and to the S.C. Council on the Holocaust that continues to support it.

It is with great pride and deep humility that I dedicate this anthology to my beloved parents Jadzia and Ben Stern (obm). They survived the Holocaust, lost almost all of their families, immigrated to a strange country with a different culture, mores and language. They reared four children who became successful in their own professions. They stressed the importance of Jewish life and the need to repay the Jewish and secular communities. They believed in education, freedom, and in the United States.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for the foresight that you had for a Holocaust Memorial in Columbia and ultimately, the writings for 10 editions of Holocaust Remembered!

Sending you both love and gratitude, Your oldest daughter,

Lilly

The Columbia Holocaust Memorial in Memorial Park, Columbia, S.C.

Acknowledgements

This project has been a success because of the many participants involved. I wish to acknowledge the people that worked so diligently and participated in this endeavor.

All of the Survivors and Liberators and their families that graciously gave of their time to retell a very difficult time of their lives, I thank you! Without your witness, the world would not know of the catastrophic events of the Holocaust.

Holocaust scholars and academics added a dimension that could only be achieved by the expertise of our Professors. As a different theme was chosen for each edition, you were chosen for your ability to explain and demonstrate what needed to be known.

McClatchy, and then the Post & Courier and Gannett newspapers, joined the supplement group to help with identifying and distributing the Holocaust Remembered supplement throughout the state in their publications. You had the vehicle and we provided the stories. The public, consequently, had the opportunity to learn and digest historical facts. I especially want to mention Lisa Willis, my “magician,” who turned the typed pages into beautiful articles.

The initial idea of the supplement and funding was discussed with the Columbia Holocaust Education Commission, CHEC. This Commission was formed with the remaining money from the completed Columbia Holocaust Memorial. (Photos taken by Mitch Litwer.) We solicited funds from corporations and individuals for seven years (2014-2020) for the publication of Holocaust Remembered. The project was then transferred to the S.C. Council on the Holocaust (2021-2023), who stepped in to ensure stability. A special thank-you to Lyssa Harvey, who co-chaired CHEC with me for 20 years.

The S.C. Council on the Holocaust, SCCH, a governmental entity, supported both financially and academically the success of the project. Individual members of the Council listened to hours of verbal testimony to bring the S.C. Survivors and Liberators’ stories to the pages of the publication. This was in addition to the previous involvement with SC ETV in the early 1990s to film the testimonies of all South Carolina Survivors and Liberators that could be identified. Thank you to all of the Council members for accepting responsibility to research and write the stories (www.scholocaustcouncil.org). These stories are on our website. Thank you to SCCH Executive Director Scott Auspelmyer for your encouragement and assistance.

Thank you to Adam and Kimberly Pitluk and David Halloran of Southern Luxury Publishing for urging me to put this anthology together and had faith that this was a necessary and worthwhile endeavor. Their expertise and encouragement led me to move forward with this project.

As an Obstetrician/Gynecology, I know what it is to labor. The rewards are indescribable! This is a labor of love as well. Each year, as the supplement comes together, I am filled with pride and excitement. Thank you to all who have made this so meaningful!

Arielle Aaron

Larisa Aginskaya

Dr. Marion Aldridge

Dr. Amit Almor

Inge Aueracher

Scott Auspelmyer

Frank Baker

Rachel Barnett

Charles Beaman, Jr.

Susan Benedict

Mayor Steve Benjamin

Dr. Michael Berenbaum

Dr. Christine Beresniova

Les Bergen

Frieda Gosschalk Bernstein

Sam Bleweis

Rabbi Brad Bloom

Arnold Breman

Dr. Allan Brett

Contributors

Mary Burkett

Rabbi Jonathan Case

John Chamberlain

Leah Chase

Eileen Chepenik

Patricia Cogdill

Leah Greenberg Davis

Brian Day

Evaline Delson

Denise Deveaux

Talli Dippold

Janice Edwards

Chavi Kalms Epstein

Rabbi Hesh Epstein

Dr. Rebecca Erbelding

Dr. Jeff Eargle

Dr. Carl Evans

Judith Dim Evans

Dr. Harold Friedman

Dr. Lilly Filler

Franscois Fisera

Dr. Wesley Fisher

Tamara Reps Freeman

Terry Garber

Henry Goldberg

Barbara Goldstein

Susie Goldstein

Rachel Golson

Dr. Lauren Granite

Harlan Greene

Lyssa Harvey

Salleigh Harvey

Rachel Haynie

Dawn Miller Heineman

Karen Heilig

Justin Heineman

Hayes Hoover

Irene Jablon

Dr. Robert Jesselson

John Kassel

Jeff Kolendar

Marisa Kornblut

Jane Kulbersh

Jennifer Lemberg

Joe Lipton

Donna Magaro

Phillis Mair

Marc Masurovsky

Gad Matzner

Hannah Goldberg McGee

Sally McInerney

Dr. Donald McKale

Dr. Melinda Menzer

Henry Miller

Rabbi Dr. Meir Muller

Dr. Josef Olmert

Marla Palmer

Hope Patterson

Janet Paul

David Polen

David Popowski

Raisa Rabinovich

Ashley Robertson

Sherri Rosenblum

Dr. Ted Rosengarten

Dr. Robin Rosenthal

Marlene Roth

Arlene Bridges Samuels

Ellie Schiller

Dr. Johannes Schmidt

Dr. Federica Clementi Schoeman

Senator Katrina Shealy

Henry Silberstern

Rabbi Philip Silverstein

Dr. Don Sloan

Dr. David Sluki

Erica Smith

Dr. Selden Smith

Dr. Saskia Coenen Snyder

Sarah Spoto

Dr. Doyle Stevick

Risa Strauss

Howard Stravitz

Jack Swerling

Emily Taylor

S.C. Chief Justice Jean Toal

Anna Ullrich

Joe Wachter

Margaret Walden

Dr. Abe Wandersman

Rev. Dr. Herman Yods

Anny Zelesne

Anita Zucker

Students and teachers attend a Council event