Stockton launches Holocaust survivor archive | Local News

President Joe Biden landed in Israel Wednesday to kick off his whirlwind four-day trip to the Middle East, his first to the region since taking office. Biden opened the visit with a tour and briefing on Israel’s “Iron Dome” and new “Iron Beam” advanced missile-defense systems, developed in partnership with the U.S. He then laid a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem on the stone crypt containing the ashes of Holocaust victims. With tears in his eyes, Biden greeted two Holocaust survivor and engaged them in conversation. Biden is spending two days in Jerusalem for talks with Israeli leaders before meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday in the West Bank. He then heads to Saudi Arabia.

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP — They are working to uphold the pledge to never forget.

Stockton University launched its Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive Sunday. The archive documents the names and stories of 1,503 survivors of the Holocaust who settled in Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties.

Scores of attendees, including the children and grandchildren of survivors and a handful of survivors themselves, gathered in a conference room at the Campus Center for a luncheon and ceremony to celebrate the launch.

Stockton associate professor of history Michael Hayse is the director of the project and led the efforts to create the archive.

He said it was a critical resource to tell the stories of Holocaust survivors and the impact they left on the state.

“We as a society and as people, we’re all very interested in what the Holocaust survivors have to tell about their experiences during the war,” Hayse said.

People are also reading…

“I also want to place a really strong emphasis on their stories as immigrants and residents, here, of New Jersey.”

The archive is a project of the Sara & Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center at Stockton. It includes ancestry history and information from memoirs and other documents that survivors and their families can access. An associated website includes the names and profiles of dozens of survivors, with more to be added as profiles are completed.

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP — Stockton University has agreed to make direct payments and in-kind contr…

Work on the archive began in 2019.

Its work was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but they persevered, holding interviews and meetings via videoconference.

Hundreds of students have worked with faculty on the project.

Together, they scoured oral testimonies, primary sources and other research items to record stories of survival and preserve them for the next generation.

Holocaust center Director Gail Rosenthal said the project would be a resource for people around the world who are interested in learning more about survivors.

“We know that people are looking, not only in the United States, but internationally,” Rosenthal said.

Leo Schoffer, a member of the Stockton Board of Trustees whose parents are the namesake of the Schoffer center, was the moderator for the ceremony. He reflected on the importance of the project in light of the experiences of his parents, who also are Holocaust survivors.

“It means a lot to me, because this center has always been at the forefront of Holocaust and genocide education,” Schoffer said. “And this is another project that I don’t believe anybody else has done.”

Stockton to host Holocaust remembrance service in Egg Harbor Township

Stockton University will honor Holocaust survivors and their families during a service at 11…

Stockton President Harvey Kesselman said he was making an “unwavering and long-term commitment” to keep the university at the forefront of Holocaust research.

John Berkowicz said his father and mother were married during the war and both survived Nazi concentration camps. He said his parents’ story was emblematic of a people’s resilience.

“The Jewish people survived,” Berkowicz said, adding learning about the Holocaust could prepare one to take part in the broader “fight against intolerance.”

The story of Berkowicz’s parents is documented in the book “Love with No Tomorrow: Tales of Romance during the Holocaust.” Its author, Mindelle Pierce was also in attendance.

“People must speak out,” Pierce said.

Michael Berenbaum, a Holocaust scholar who spoke during the program, said the new archives completed the Holocaust story, exploring the lives of survivors after they settled in their new homes.

Noting that the Ken Burns documentary “The U.S. and the Holocaust” was set to premiere later Sunday, he said the archives pick up where that documentary ends with how they contributed to the communities in which they settled.

NJEA officials gather in support of Pleasantville diverse-curriculum leader

PLEASANTVILLE — The state’s largest teachers union is rallying on behalf of the leader of an…

“They shaped the world, and the world was shaped by them,” Berenbaum said.

Berenbaum said preserving the memory of survivors was all too vital a task.

He cited the proliferation of antisemitism in recent years and the atrocities that still take place as people around the world confront the threat of authoritarianism and intolerance. Reflecting on the state of politics in the United States, Berenbaum said Americans must seek to understand what the nation’s responsibility is to oppressed people throughout the world. The PBS film he mentioned is about how the United States failed to take in more Jewish refugees from Europe during the Holocaust.

“The tragedy of the world in which we live is that the Holocaust has become more relevant over time,” Berenbaum said. “We live in a world which is still struggling with the question ‘Are our gates open, or are our gates closed?’”

The Schoffer center is set to release a digital exhibition in fall 2023 that will provide a comprehensive overview of the Holocaust, issues facing refugees and the contributions Holocaust survivors have made to South Jersey.

Toward the end of the ceremony, Lisa Roth, whose grandmother Elizabeth Roth was a survivor, listed 10 lessons people should take from the archive. At the top of the list were “never forget” and “never again.”

After the ceremony, Elizabeth Roth said she was proud of her granddaughter.

“Her children and her grandchildren will remember,” Elizabeth Roth said. “As generations go on.”

GALLERY: Stockton Holocaust center unveils digital survivors’ archive

Holocaust archive

Attendees check in at the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Attendees check in at the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Elizabeth Roth, a Holocaust survivor from Vineland, shares a laugh with her granddaughter, Lisa Roth, who was a speaker at the event, and Noah Bronkesh, of Linwood, during the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Betty Simon, a Holocaust survivor from Ventnor, shares a laugh with Dr. Michael Hayse, project director, and Brianna Doherty, a Stockton student and project member, during the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Elizabeth Roth, a Holocaust survivor from Vineland, talks with Dr. Michael Hayse, project director, and Dan Torba, a Stockton student from Brigantine and a project member, during the , during the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Sonia Kaplan, a Holocaust survivor from Atlantic City, talks with Perscilla Bartley, a Stockton graduate student from Fredericksburg, Virginia, and project member, during the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Betty Simon, a Holocaust survivor from Ventnor, is recognized during the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Elizabeth Roth, a Holocaust survivor from Vineland, is recognized during the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Leo Schoffer, of the Stockton Board of Trustees and member of the Holocaust Resource Center Executive Committee, leads the launch ceremony of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. Schoffer is also a second-generation Holocaust survivor. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Dr. Harvey Kesselman, Stockton University President, speaks during the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Dr. Harvey Kesselman, Stockton University President, speaks during the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

The launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

The launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Dr.Michael Hayse, Project Director, speaks at the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Dr.Michael Hayse, Project Director, speaks at the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Dr.Michael Hayse, Project Director, speaks at the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Dr.Michael Hayse, Project Director, speaks at the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Dr.Michael Hayse, Project Director, speaks at the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Maud Dahme, a Holocaust survivor from Flemington, speaks at the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Irvin Moreno-Rodriguez, program assistant at the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center gives a tour of the center after the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Irvin Moreno-Rodriguez, program assistant at the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center, gives a tour of the center after the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Leo Schoffer, center with mask, of the Stockton Board of Trustees and member of the Holocaust Resource Center Executive Committee, gives a tour of the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center after the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website, at Stockton University, in Galloway, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (VERNON OGRODNEK, STOCKTON UNIVERSITY)



Holocaust archive

Lee Phillips, of Raleigh, North Carolina; Carole Karabashian, of Ventnor; and Marissa Bartley, also of Raleigh, watch an interactive biography by Ed Mossberg Sunday at the Sara & Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center at Stockton University, after the launch of the Holocaust Survivors of South Jersey digital archive and website.



Comments are closed.