It is with great pleasure to announce that Voices of the Generations is now working with the Tennessee Holocaust Commission to bring the VOG program to schools throughout Tennessee. This week Julie Kohner presented VOG to Apollo Middle School in Antioch, Tennessee and to Bellevue Middle School in Bellevue. Both classes have been studying Holocaust history through their 8th grade English classes. Both presentations sparked great question and answer sessions with the students, who have been studying Holocaust through readings of Diary of Ann Frank and other notable works.

Thanks to the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, Alyssa Trachtman, Director of Operations, and Ken Gluck, Education Coordinator.

Voices of the Generations founder and CEO, Julie Kohner, presented at University Synagogue to 250 senior Los Angeles area high school students preparing to travel to Poland and Israel. The March of the Living trip will tour Holocaust remembrance sites such as Auschwitz in Poland, and memorial sites in Israel. Thanks to Maya Aharon, Director for March of the Living.

As part of the 81st commemoration of Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, Julie Kohner presented Voices of the Generations at The Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida on Nov 10, 2019. With nearly 200 in attendance, including many survivors and second generation families,  Julie brought the story of Hanna and Walter, along with This Is Your Life, Hanna Bloch Kohner to the museum. Thanks to the Museum and Second Generation for hosting this event.

Julie Kohner and The Florida Holocaust Museum Curator, Erin Blankenship

Nearly 200 in attendance for the Kristallnacht Commemoration.

The Florida Holocaust Museum is home to one of the few remaining box cars used by the Nazis to transport Jews to Auschwitz and Treblinka. Box Car number 113069-5 now rests on original tracks from Treblinka.

Julie Kohner has brought Voices of the Generations to the east central New Jersey area with programs commemorating Yom Ha Shoah.

Speaking at B’Nai Israel on Tuesday April 30, Rabbi Bayar made mention that this Yom Ha Shoah service was the first time that a survivor was not available to speak, making the point that survivors are growing fewer in numbers, and that it has become more critical for their children to carry on the legacy of the Holocaust.

Rabbi Tobin of B’nai Shalom in West Orange, NJ also shared his views on this Yom Ha Shoah of the importance of not shielding our Jewishness in light of the recent synagogue tragedies in Poway, CA and Pittsburgh, PA.

In the context of remembering the Holocaust, sharing stories of our survival as a people, speaking to congregations on this Yom Ha Shoah makes this all the more evident that survivors experiences must continue to be shared as a collective means to remember that hate takes many forms yet always manifests itself for what it is.

Many thanks to Rabbi Bayar of B’Nai Israel in Milburn and Rabbi Tobin of B’nai Shalom in West Orange, NJ for bringing Voices of the Generations to their congregations in honor of this Yom Ha Shoah.

Julie Kohner presented Voices of the Generations at Temple Ner Ami in Camarillo, California on Sunday afternoon, April 28, 2019, thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Jewish Federation of Ventura. The program was part of the congregation’s traditional Yom Ha Shoah memorial program, and also memorialized the recent tragedy at Chabad of Poway Synagogue (www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/04/28/chabad-synagogue-shooting-victims-rabbi-two-israelis-woman-valor/?utm_term=.70ff53417e75) the previous day.

Julie spoke of the empowerment that comes from incidents such as Poway and Pittsburgh, to continue to speak of the impact and lessons to be learned from the Holocaust, and why teaching tolerance to the youngest members of our community is so important.

Julie Kohner presented Voices of the Generations to the Holocaust and Creative Impulse freshman class at the USC School of Music on Tuesday, October 9, 2018. Julie has been presenting VOG annually to this class, taught by Nick Strimple,  for many years. This year was no exception. The students were moved and inspired by Hanna’s story. Many students who come to the program have not had much formal Holocaust education, and they have found Hanna’s story to be an eye opening introduction into how one family was affected by the trauma of war.

Looking forward to speaking at the Indianapolis BJE Holocaust Education Center of Indiana on Feb. 1, 2018. If you are in the area, please join us.

Voices of the Generations presented two programs at History Colorado museum in Denver, on November 21 2017. Thanks to Shawn Snow and Michael Vincent for their warm hospitality. Lots of great questions and conversation from over two hundred guests.