- Narrated by Matt Lauer
- Featuring:
- Arnie Herrmann
- Danny Stegman
- Jeff Sobo
- Josh Gillon
- Rob Rudin
- Greg Meisel
- Rabbi David Seth Kirshner
- Cantor Steve Blane
- Written, produced & directed by
Clive Gershon
- Director of photography & edited by
Paul Brozen
“ Our trip was emotional all the way around. As a child of a Holocaust survivor, to be at a death camp had all sorts of meanings and feelings that I probably won’t sort out for many years. But it does underscore the importance of Israel and the knowledge that this will never happen again as long as Israel is kept a vibrant, strong state.
— Arnie ”
I don’t know if anybody ever said Kaddish (prayer to remember the dead) for my grandparents and aunt. The Rabbi said Kaddish and I said their Hebrew names. That was very important for me because it was a kind of closure, as they don’t have a place where they are buried. Their ashes are all over the place. Auschwitz is basically a cemetery, so I actually visited my grandparents at their cemetery.
— Danny
“ When my Mom and her family were taken to Auschwitz, they were separating everybody into two lines. My Mom was on the line with other stronger, young people who they were going to use to work. There was another line where my grandmother was placed with my Mom’s two young brothers, along with other kids, babies and older people. But my Mom wanted to be with her family, so she ran to them but a German soldier whipped her and told her to get back on her line.
— Jeff ”
We walked into the concentration camps and I was really surprised at what I saw. I had no idea how large this murder factory was. It really hit me, what my father-in-law must have seen as a young 19-year-old US soldier. Seeing the children’s shoes and the things that were left behind, as a father of two girls, it just blew me away.
— Josh
“ How do you end a day like we had at Birkenau? The way in which we had a memorial service, standing on the grounds of the crematorium, realizing the millions who died. Then physically picking up a rock, putting it in our pocket, and flying to Israel. Watching the sun rise over Jerusalem, going to the kotel, the Western Wall, the holiest of holy places, and putting that stone in the wall for those who never had that opportunity, so that they can go to G_d. It was an incredible moment for all of us.
— Greg ”
There are many things in Israel that I thought were amazing. There are well over a million people living in the Tel Aviv area. Looking at the quality of the architecture, it is spectacular. It really brought home to me how permanent and developed Israel is. It’s incredible what the Jewish people have been able to pull together in a period of 60 years.
— Rob
Matt Lauer, Narrator- Matt Lauer is best known as the host of NBC's The Today Show. Matt was born in New York City, the son of Marilyn Kolmer, a boutique owner, and Jay Robert Lauer, a bicycle-company executive. His parents divorced during his youth and Matt became co-host of The Today Show not long before his father died in 1997. In 1999, Matt and his co-host Katie Couric participated in Today's series about their family roots. The series turned out to be a hit, and Matt was moved by what he learned about his immigrant ancestors. “My dad was Jewish. My mom is not. So I was not raised anything. I do feel a desire now to find something spiritual. Getting married and having kids has something to do with that.”
- back to topArnie Herrmann
- Arnie was born in New York City. His father Rene grew up in the 1930’s in a small German town called Greimerath, just outside Trier, with his parents, sister Molly and two brothers Bernie and Kurt. They were the family butchers in the town. After World War II broke out, Rene and his family were forced from their home and eventually taken to the Riga concentration camp. Their home and belongings were left behind and taken by strangers.
Although many of Rene’s family, including his father, sister and one brother, perished in the Holocaust, Arnie’s father, grandmother and uncle Kurt managed to survive, despite starvation and being forced to work long hours in several concentration camps. When the war ended, Rene and Kurt made their way to America with nothing apart from the clothes their liberators gave them. - back to topDanny Stegman
-
Danny’s parents were born in Romania, his father Josef in Kluge and his mother near Bucharest. When Josef was 13, he took a job at a hospital working with the radiologist, as he wanted to be a doctor. When the radiologist was taken to the concentration camps a year later, Josef was the only one left who knew how to take X-rays. He was able to get papers from someone who had died in the hospital and remained in Kluge with these papers throughout the war.
When the Nazis came, Josef’s parents, sister, and two brothers were taken to the concentration camps. Shortly after, his brothers escaped with 5 friends and they found Josef at the hospital. He was able to hide them in the hospital’s attic where they survived for the remainder of the war. However, Josef’s parents and aunt died at Auschwitz. Josef and his brother survived and participated in the founding of the State of Israel, before eventually settling in Venezuela where Danny was born. - back to topJeff Sobo
- Jeff was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. His mother was born and grew up in Transylvania and his father in Bucharest, neighboring towns, kind of like Brooklyn and Queens. His Dad escaped the Nazis and was able to get to the US but his Mom and her family were taken to Auschwitz where they were separated, and her family murdered, when she was 15.
- back to topJosh Gillon
- Josh’s father-in-law served in the US army in Europe during World War II and was one of the first American soldiers to liberate a concentration camp. He came upon the Ohrdruf concentration camp, having no idea what was going on, and saw fellow Jews starving and a death scene that he literally couldn’t talk about for many years because it was so overwhelming to him.
- back to topRob Rudin and Greg Meisel
- Rob and Greg both grew up in the New York area. Their parents were born in the US, their families having come before the Holocaust.
- back to topRabbi David-Seth Kirshner
- David-Seth Kirshner, a natural leader, charismatic speaker and magnetic personality, is the Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in Closter, NJ. Rabbi Kirshner has written articles for many media sources and is regularly published in the Jewish Standard, the Bergen Record and the New York Times.
- back to topCantor Steven Blane
- Steve Blane’s beautiful voice and naturally upbeat personality bring light to all situations. He is the spiritual leader of the Sim Shalom community in northern New Jersey and was a member of the Cantor's Assembly, a collection of the finest Cantors in the world.
Historical archive materials courtesy of the Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive, United States Holocaust Museum, Washington DC.
With thanks to UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey and Angelica Berrie