Hitler’s
Silent Victims:
Holocaust Commemoration to Focus
on the Deaf Experience During the Holocaust
April 4, 1998
Before World War II began, the German government sterilized 375,000 people. 17,000 of them
were deaf.
In a unique Holocaust Commemoration, more than 150 deaf and hard of hearing including survivors and relatives of survivors from across the country will join together to remember the persecution of the deaf. The convention, sponsored by the Orthodox Union (OU), will be held Thursday-Sunday, May 14-17 in Baltimore, Maryland.
"We tend to forget that the deaf were one of the first victims of Nazi brutality," said Rabbi Eliezer Lederfiend, National Director of the OU’s Our Way program for the deaf. "Indeed, as a minority within a minority, the Jewish deaf were doubly hunted and persecuted by the Nazi regime."
The four-day program will feature a visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and presentations by teen-agers who will "speak" about the Holocaust experiences of their grandparents.
"As the survivors die out, it is important for young people to carry on the memory of those who perished," signed seventeen-year-old Sophie Gold from Seattle, Washington, who will "speak" about how her grandmother enlisted the help of the Lutheran Church to save her family during the Holocaust.
There will also be sessions on how deaf can get involved with community service.
Eugene Bergman, assistant professor of English at Gallaudet University, the first deaf person ever to earn a Ph. D. in English, will be the scholar-in-residence. A deaf survivor, Bergman’s deafness ultimately saved his life during the Holocaust.
Presentations will be conducted in spoken English and in American Sign Language. The convention will be led by David Kastor, Our Way Regional Representative of Maryland. To attend, call TTY (410) 764-3986 or fax (410) 764-1842 or email DKASTOR@HCFA.GOV.
Established in 1969, Our Way is the only Jewish movement reaching out to the Jewish deaf across the country and bridging the gap between the hearing and the non-hearing worlds. Through a vast array of programs and publications, Our Way provides spiritual and social opportunities for nearly 1,000 Jewish deaf youths and adults.
For more information, please call Our Way at (212) 613-8234.
|
|
