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Permit No. 1208
The Charlotte TEWISH«NEWS
Vol. 10 No. 3
Charlotte, North Carolina
March, 1988
Charlotteans Reflect on Visit to Auschwitz Exhibit
By Rosalind P. Taranto
I often ask myself why we
Jews seem to gravitate to our
past more than any other
group of people. The clearest
answer came to me when a
group of us from Charlotte
went to Atlanta to see the ex
hibition “Auschwitz: A Crime
Against Mankind,” on Janu
ary 24. Dorothy Ashendorf
and I, through the sponsor
ship of the Women’s Division
of the Charlotte Jewish
Federation, worked together
to coordinate the day trip from
Charlotte to Atlanta. Reflect
ing back on the day, I came to
realize the answer to my ques
tion — the young adults, ages
13-17 who made the trip to
Atlanta. These teenagers
showed sad emotion — love,
strength, tears and even
humor, as they, along with the
others, viewed the exhibition.
It is not easy to view the
photographs of our people be
ing gassed, huddled into cattle
c£u*s, being stripped of their
personal clothing and dignity;
the children taken away from
their parents; husbands, wives,
grandparents, sisters and
brothers all being moved in
different directions. It was
also difficult to look at the
tangibles: suitcases and per
sonal belongings, ashes from
the crematorium, cases of
human hair and samples of
cloth woven from hair. It is a
very difficult exhibit to walk
through for over an hour and
a half. Questions and answers,
from survivors of all the
camps, which were spaced
throughout, were moving and
real. Our own Susan Spatz, a
survivor of Auschwitz, an
swered many questions in
Atlanta and on our return trip.
The exhibit, composed of
135 photographs, panels and
artifacts relating to the activi
ty and operation of the in
famous death camp from
1941-1945, was conceived by
the government of Poland, and
At the Schatten Gallery, Woodruff Library, Emory U. (L to R) Dorothy
Ashendorf, Debby Rosenbergrer, Maddie Joffe, Hardy Spatz, Susan Spatz,
Doris Fligel, Rosalind Taranto, Sandra Hirsch, Meg Goldstein, Simon
Estroff.
Our young: adults, the future leaders of our community.
United States under the
auspices of the UJA. Objec
tively, the exhibit is well put
together and the docents pre
pared for any group that tours
the exhibit.
The young adults, who are
the future leaders of Charlotte
and the Jewish community,
are two generations removed
from this tragic peripd of
Jewish history, living a secure
and comfortable life in
America. As I listened and
watched them that Sunday
afternoon in Atlanta, I know
why we go back — because the
future needs to know so that
we can learn forever, “never
again.”
Metrolina Federation Holds Campaign:
Gastonia Has Very Successful “Super Sunday”
By Mike Minkin
Exec. Director CJF
Bobbi Bernstein, 1988 presi
dent of the Charlotte Jewish
Federation, and Richard Klein,
1988 Campaign cochair, an
nounced the results of the
Metrolina Division campaign
effort, held in Gastonia on
Sunday, January 17. Klein
said ‘‘The Gastonia leadership
and general community an
swered the call of Israel by
pledging nearly $40,000 to
help meet Jewish needs. This
represents nearly a 90% in
crease over last year’s actual
of such a wonderful Jewish ex
perience. The day’s effort was
a gratifying experience for all
who participate.”
M^y Stein, National Chair
man of the United Jewish Ap
peal, made a special trip to
North Carolina to meet with
Jewish leadership from Gas
tonia and to speak at a small
parlor meeting held at the
home of Barry Brodsky. Stein
spoke to the group about the
current situation in Israel,
Jewish responsibility, and the
special importance of Jewish
participation by small commu
nities.
After the parlor meeting,
volunteers from the Charlotte
Jewish Federation campaign
work force met at the offices
of State Senator Marshall
Rauch in order to “call Gas
tonia” on a special “Metro
lina Super Sunday.” Senator
Rauch made his office phones
available to the callers and
played a key part and a signifi
cant role in helping us reach
the $40,000 mark. Partici
pating in the phone-a-thon
were Barry Brodsky, Robert
Damsky, Simon Estroff, Phil
Joffe, Richard Klein, Richard
Melenson, Jim Rosenberger
and Steward Scher.
By Shira N. Melenson
On January 9,1988, I went
to the Auschwitz exhibit in
Atlanta. I went there with the
motivation to keep the mem
ory of these tragic happenings
alive, and to sanctify the
names of the six million souls
who died — solely because
they were Jewish. I thought I
knew a lot about the Holo
caust, but what I learned was
nothing compared to the
wealth of documents, pictures,
lists, maps and letters I saw at
the Schatten Gallery in the
Woodruff Library of Emory
University.
This Holocaust exhibit be
gan with a tour; the guide
gave a simplified version of
the historical events. Not
satisfied, I returned for a sec
ond and third review of the ex
hibit. I read the documents
and the endless sad letters re
questing that loved ones at
home be taken care of. These
letters described endless tor
tures and were not believed by
the families and friends left at
home. I looked at the portraits
that the inmates of the concen
tration camp had drawn of
each other to keep their sani
ty. The first time around I felt
nervous, tense and sick to my
stomach. By the third time
around, I was numb and was
no longer as shocked by what
I saw. So perhaps the Nazis
and the other people who dai
ly saw the cruelties imposed
upon the Jews and other
minorities became insensitive
to what they saw and were no
longer as shocked. Such trage
dy can happen again unless
we, the people of the world,
work to preserve the bitter
memory.
By Juanita Condruff
I went with the Temple Beth
El V’Shalom confirmation
class to see the display,
“Auschwitz—A Crime Against
Mankind,” at Emory Univer
sity in Atlanta, Georgia.
I am not Jewish and I feel I
must tell you about my feel
ings and what happened to me'
that day.
I attended this presentation
with Julie Goodman, just look
ing for a fun, happy, relaxing
time with people my age. But
when I got there, I was really
surprised. I had never really
thought about the Jewish
Holocaust, because my church
doesn’t really talk about it,
since it never affected my
religion. To see all those pic
tures and read all those names
really puts me in a thoughtful
mood. Now when I think about
it, I wonder which side I would
have been on: in the concentra
tion camp or one of the “civili
ans” who just didn’t care.
Going to this presentation
now means a lot to me. I’m
glad I didn’t miss it. 1 just
wish more Christians who
never experienced the devasta
tion would reedize just how
bad this “black spot” in our
history really is. They may
know a little bit about it, but
it was probably only through
world history texts which can
never convey the feelings of
depression, peun and humili
ation that these people had to
face.
I really enjoyed this trip and
am grateful to my Jewish
friends for inviting me. More
people should know more
about this terrible thing so
they can understand it and
come to terms with their inner
feelings as I did.
FAIROAKS
Dedication Ceremonies
Sunday, March 27
2 p.m.
at the
Blumenthal Jewish Home
Clemmons, NC
see page 17
In The News
Book Review
14
Calendar
20
Day School
6
Editorials
2
Famlty S«ivlc«s
5
JCC
10-11
Lubavttch
12
Opinions
3
Organizations
18
Recipes
20
Temples
16
This 'n That
9
Woman’s Mvislofi....
7
World Beat
4
-Special Feature—
Visit Israel for
its 40th Anniversary
Page 8
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