April 23, 2009
Ralph R. Ortega
The Star Ledger
They were the youngest to have survived the Holocaust, some of them only toddlers when they were freed from Nazi concentration camps.
Now in their 70s and 80s, about two dozen survivors came to Newark's 22nd Anniversary Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart yesterday.
Undeterred by advancing years, they came to publicly remember the nearly 6 million Jews whose lives were lost to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Mayor Cory Booker hosted the remembrance with passionate remarks for the survivors.
"All of them were touched by the fire of war and genocide in their youth," Booker said.
More than 600 students were brought to the church for the multi-denominational program, which included remarks from Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, and Gajus Schelema, the Consul-General of the Netherlands. Prayers were offered by Rabbi Clifford Kulwin of Temple B'Nai Abraham in Montclair, and imam Abdul Aleem Razzaqq of Masjid Ismail, a mosque in Roselle.
A version of "Al Shlosha D'Varim" was performed by the Newark Boys Choir.
The remembrance also coincided with what would have been Anne Frank's 80th birthday yesterday, and featured student essays and poetry interpreting the young girl's diary, describing two years of her childhood spent with her family, while in hiding from the Nazis.
It was a bittersweet moment for survivors, who said they wished Holocaust stories over the years could have done more to prevent other crimes against humanity.
"It's too bad we don't learn from our mistakes, and that we continue having them all over the world, in Darfur and in other places. We just don't learn," said Marianne Tulman, who was born in Berlin, and left for the United States in 1938 with her parents, when she was only 3.
Tulman, who now lives in Livingston, said the job of preventing another Holocaust cannot rest on the modest showing of survivors at remembrance ceremonies. "The problem is, Holocaust survivors are aging and there aren't too many of them left," she said.
Gerald VanHalle, a survivor who lived next door to Frank in Amsterdam, and whose brother was killed by the Nazis, was unable to speak at yesterday's remembrance because of health problems.
VanHalle, 86, of Verona, who spoke about his experiences with a reporter by telephone yesterday, said he had told his story numerous times to schoolchildren, different religious congregations and community organizations.
"I have done a lot of public speaking, and it certainly never got any easier," said VanHalle.
Barbara Wind, director of the Holocaust Council of MetroWest, an organization that includes Essex, Northern Union, Morris and Sussex counties, said survivors like VanHalle have done more than their share of service, and that young people will continue to learn about the Holocaust through programs that help to promote remembrance.
For example, the council has an adopt-a-survivor program in New Jersey, where students develop an intimate relationship with survivors. One student teamed with VanHalle, and has written a book about the survivor, said Wind.
Nana Nelson, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from the Maple Avenue School, said she had been inspired to write a diary about growing up in Newark, hoping it mirrors Frank's positive perspective.
"I hope that one day I understand about the concepts of life, like Anne did," said Nelson. "She opened her eyes more, and she learned how to love. She learned how to understand why she was here."
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