11 December 2008
(December 8-11, 2008 - Jerusalem) Holocaust researchers, artists, and survivors from around the world gathered at Yad Vashem for an international conference organized by the International Institute for Holocaust Research entitled “The Holocaust, the Survivors and the State of Israel”.
The establishment of a new center for post-Holocaust study, the Diana Zborowski Center for the Study of the Aftermath of the Shoah, was announced during the conference. Dr. Zeev Mankowitz, Director of the new Center, offered remarks and lead a panel discussion, with the participation of Holocaust survivors: author Ruth Bondy, actress Lea Koenig-Stolper, and artist and graphic designer Dan Reisinger.
Serving as a hub for higher learning, the Center encourages research and activities relating to the study of all aspects of Holocaust survivors’ post-war experiences. It is under the auspices of the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem. The Center will concentrate its efforts on new research and the dissemination of current studies on topics such as: Europe as viewed by survivors, early attempts to institutionalize the memory of the Holocaust, the crisis of liberation for the survivors, and the Shoah as depicted in modern literature and films.
Among the issues discussed during the four-day event: dilemmas among the Survivor community; the Holocaust and its imprint on individual creativity; the absorption of Holocaust survivors in Israel; the political and social roles of Holocaust memory; and how Holocaust survivors view their part in the building of the State of Israel.
The conference took place with the generous support of The Gertner Center for International Holocaust Conferences and the Gutwirth Family Fund.
