03 December 2008
Did the Holocaust Lead to the Creation of the State of Israel?
What Was the Relationship Between the Survivors and Israeli Society?
These Questions and More to be Addressed at the International Conference Opening Monday at Yad Vashem: “The Holocaust, the Survivors and the State of Israel”
Holocaust researchers, artists, and survivors from around the world will gather next week at Yad Vashem for an international conference entitled “The Holocaust, the Survivors and the State of Israel.” Professor David Bankier, Head of the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem and Avner Shalev, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate, will participate in the opening session on Monday, December 8, 2008 at 17:00, in the Yad Vashem Auditorium. The keynote address, “Did the Holocaust Lead to the Creation of the State of Israel?” will be delivered by Professor Yehuda Bauer, Academic Advisor to Yad Vashem.
The establishment of a new center for post-Holocaust study will be announced during the conference. The Diana Zborowski Center for the Study of the Aftermath of the Shoah will be launched on Tuesday, December 9, 2008, at 16:00, in a special session chaired by Dr. Lily Zborowski-Naveh on “The Holocaust and its Imprint on Individual Creativity”. Dr. Zeev Mankowitz, Director of the new Center, will offer 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 will encourage research and activities relating to the study of all aspects Holocaust survivors’ post-war experiences. It will operate 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 those who will address the conference, are Isaac Herzog, Minister of Welfare and Social Services and Minister of Diaspora Society and the Fight against Antisemitism, Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council, and Knesset Member Collette Avital.
Among the issues to be 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.
A special session in conjunction with the Directorate of the Contribution of Holocaust Survivors to the State of Israel Project will take place on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 15:30. Moshe Sanbar, Chairman of the Project’s Directorate and Micha Shagrir, producer and director of the film The Phoenixes, will participate in the session, during which the film will be screened.
The conference is taking place with the generous support of The Gertner Center for International Holocaust Conferences and the Gutwirth Family Fund.
