Holocaust Archives - The Culture Mom

19Jun

Review: “Terezin” by Nicholas Tolkien, Presented by The Steinberg Theater Group

In high school, I performed in a play called "I Never Saw Another Butterfly" about children who lived in a concentration camp called Terezin during the Holocaust, also known by the German name Theresienstadt. Terezin was a mere 38 miles northwest of Prague and served largely as a collection camp for deportations to the killing centers of Eastern Europe. Rife with disease and starvation, some 35,000 prisoners perished there, and most were taken to Auschwitz, that included artists, musicians, composers and intellectuals. Despite the horrific conditions, Read More

22Mar

The Zookeeper’s Wife, a Holocaust Film that Celebrates Light

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

Last week I screened The Zookeeper's Wife, a Holocaust-themed film directed by Niki Caro. The Holocaust is a very personal issue for me. My feelings have very deep roots, stemming back to my childhood and it often fuels my writing. I've interviewed survivors, written about my recent visits to concentration camps, talked about why my being a mother makes the connection even deeper, and why we must #NeverForget. I also gravitate towards Holocaust films and review them as often as possible. Holocaust films are not easy to make and I've watched my share Read More

22Nov

My Visit to Dachau: Never Forget

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

#Dachau - let me tell you about my visit. Please note I have also just been to Auschwitz and Birkenau, where even worse atrocities were committed, and to countless Jewish ghettos all over Eastern Europe, so I am tired....and sad. However, I also feel compelled to share what I have just seen while it's all very raw. Just over 70 years ago, innocent people entered Dachau through the SS training camp after marching through the town for all to see, thinking that they were going someplace safe as that is what they had been told. But they left registration Read More

28Oct

A Fight for the Truth in “Denial”

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

I'll never forget the day I first learned about the Holocaust. The reform synagogue on Atlanta's Peachtree Street where I went to Sunday School showed part of the documentary Shoah. I had never seen anything quite like the horror I experienced that day and my life was changed forever. It was clear that a devastating crime had been committed against the Jewish people, my people. Six million members of my family had been brutally taken for the world for no reason other than being Jewish. In the 1990s when I was in college down south, Professor Deborah Read More

20Apr

Chasing Holocaust Ghosts in Paper Love by Sarah Wildman

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

Is it possible to chase ghosts? One woman would say that it is. It all started with just one letter. After consulting with her grandmother about it, she found out that the woman in the photographs had been her grandfather's "true love". With knowledge of his escape from Vienna during the Holocaust, Wildman wanted to know more about her and started to chase her ghost. No longer able to ask him, as he had passed away prior to her discovery, she would have to venture into the unknown, a chapter not discusssed much by her family. Armed with a a cache Read More

08Mar

Review: A Happy End at the Abingdon Theatre

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

When I got the invite to A HAPPY END, a play by Iddo Netanyaho, a physician and playwright who happens to be the Israeli Prime Minister's brother, I accepted immediately. I tend to gravitate toward Holocaust themed films, plays and TV shows. In 2015, I feel it is moe important than ever to be reminded what happened, as Anti-Semitism is taking hold in places not so very far away, like in Paris and other parts of Europe. The play is appearing at the Abingdon Theatre, in an off-Broadway run through March, and is about a Jewish family in Berlin Read More

06Jul

A Reunion of Holocaust Survivors from the Lodz Ghetto

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago, I had an extraordinary experience that I feel I have neglected to tell. I have been hesitant to tell this story for a few reasons. For one thing, I haven't been sure of the outlet in which to feature it. I have wondered if the Culture Mom is the right venue for a story of such an important, historical nature. I often write about plays I see, trips I see, my children. Is this the right forum for such a story? Well, to answer that question, this blog is anything that I want it to be, so I have to say it is. For another thing, I didn't Read More

11Nov

The Holocaust Documentary Kinderblock 66

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

Yesterday I experienced a movie that I am going to be thinking about for many days to come. It was about the beauty that can be found even in the darkest places. The title of the film was Kinderblock 66: Return to Buchenwald. We all know about the despicable acts that occurred during the Holocaust, but it's nice to be reminded of the courageous acts that were also undertaken to keep Jews safe, just as Schindler in Schlinder's List did. This film reminds us of both the atrocities and the miracles that occurred during the Holocaust, and it is a firm Read More

08Nov

Becoming Dr. Ruth: Review and Giveaway

Posted by The Culture Mom 6 Comments

Everyone knows the supremely direct Dr. Ruth from her radio and television shows, "Sexually Speaking." But at 4 foot 7 inches tall, her life has been anything but short on adversity. She was a huge part of my childhood. I remember hearing the sound of her voice on the radio as clearly as I can hear it today. We were avid listeners. She gave women a microphone. But before she became America's most famous sex therapist, she lived a life unbeknownst to many. She survived the Holocaust, moved to Israel and joined the Hagannah. Later while living in Read More

24Aug

Esther Geizhals: A Story of Holocaust Survival

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

This is a repost of a story that I recently posted over at The Broad Side. I am in the process of interviewing several survivors and many children of survivors for a project and I will be posting some of their stories. We must never forget the atrocities that occurred a mere 70 years ago and we must make sure that no one else ever forgets. It was an honor to meet Esther Geizhals and she assured me that her story must be shared, along with everyone else who lived through it. These stories of a mass genocide of an innocent people must be told. The photo Read More