Public Radio International’s “This American Life” March 4-6 will feature an episode from Allison Silverman discussing stories about the perils of giving and receiving gifts including what happens when – surprise! – your whole life past gets laid out for a live TV audience. This story will include excerpts of  “This Is Your Life”.

In a 1953 episode, Ralph Edwards surprises the lovely Hanna Bloch Kohner and discusses her heartbreaking and terrifying journey from being a young girl in the Sudetenland, through four concentration camps, and finally to the arms of her husband Walter in the United States. His description is vivid.”

Julie Kohner and Allison Silverman spoke at length regarding the feelings Hanna Kohner had about being a surprise guest on “This Is Your Life”.

To listen to the archived audio of this broadcast from March 4, 2011, click here.

We are very excited to announce that Julie Kohner, Founder and CEO of Voices of the Generations, will be appearing at the UCLA Film & Television Archive Festival of Preservation at 7:00 pm on March 13, 2011 in conjunction with the presentation of three episodes of “This Is Your Life.”  One of American television’s most popular programs, This is Your Life presented tributes to hundreds of notable people on NBC from 1952 until 1961, hosted by the effervescent Ralph Edwards. Among the many famous personalities that the show honored were also many ordinary people who had overcome tremendous obstacles. Among these “regular” people were three exceptional women—Hanna Bloch Kohner, Ilse Stanley and Sara Veffer—all survivors of the Holocaust. Their harrowing yet inspiring stories are vividly related in these three This is Your Life episodes which marked the first time the Holocaust was addressed in any context on American television.  Julie will be at this evening’s program to discuss and answer questions about “This Is Your Life, Hanna Bloch Kohner.” The event will be held on Sunday, March 13, 2011, at the Billy Wilder Theater, Courtyard Level, Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Boulevard (intersection of Wilshire and Westwood Boulevards), Los Angeles, CA 90024.  Phone 310.206.8013.  For more information, please link to http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/calendar/calendar.aspx

Voices of the Generations would like to thank all who have contributed through our end of the year fundraising efforts. Voices of the Generations is a non-profit public charity that develops and sponsors Holocaust education by providing unique and personal accounts for first, second, and third generations of survivors. Donations are always welcome at any time of the year and your contribution, which is tax deductible, continues to provide an easy to grasp, yet powerful and meaningful introduction to the Holocaust.

Voices of the Generations, Inc. is a non-profit 501(C)3 public charity, whose mission is a personal approach to Holocaust education. On Sunday, November 21, 2010, VOG held its first fundraiser. With nearly 60 people in attendance, expectations were more than met, and the event was a complete success. Raising well over $1,000.00 that day, and several hundred more since, VOG has taken a major step in fulfilling its objective as a new public charity to move Holocaust education to a new and higher level.  With the recognition from our new donors, we look forward to making 2011 a year to expand our program and  public outreach, with new and exiting educational opportunities using our newly published curriculum.  Special thanks to Ms. Natalie Gold for providing her home for the event.

An international education blog, Learning From History, based in Germany, with English translation has recently re-published our article introducing The Hanna & Walter Curriculum Project to a wider audience.  Please visit this site at

http://learning-from-history.de/Teilnehmen-und-Vernetzen/Posting/8921

to view the post and explore this wonderful international education resource.  Thanks to Bettina for continuing to get the word out on our new curriculum.

Please join Natalie Gold at her home Sunday November 21, 2010 from 4 – 6 p.m. in support of Voices of the Generations and meet its founder, Julie Kohner.

Voices of the Generations’ 20 year history of outreach and educational programs is based on the unique story of Julie’s mother Hanna Kohner as told on “This is Your Life” in 1953.  She was the first Holocaust Survivor featured on national television in the United States.

Come learn more about our program and the new curriculum.  View the original “This Is Your Life” episode and hear Julie discuss her parents book, “Hanna & Walter, A Love Story”

Space is limited.  Please RSVP by November 15, 2010 to VOGCharity@VOGCharity.org for directions.

A new citation of “Hanna Kohner” appears in the  link (http://www.rp-online.de/gesellschaft/leute/Senta-Bergers-Leben-in-Rezepten_aid_900163.html).  Here is the presentation of a new cookbook by an Austrian actress who I like very much and who is very well known in Germany. Her name is Senta Berger. She says that chicken broth and Hollywood are equivalent for her since she has been served chicken broth with cilantro/coriander and sweet potatoes by Hanna Kohner. She says that she often was the guest of Hanna and Walter Kohner, her agent, when she was shooting a film with Kirk Douglas in Los Angeles. This must have been in 1966.

In her new cookbook, she presents meals and memories, honoring the women who taught her cooking and who accompanied and protected her during her life.

I believe that this a wonderful little story.

Thanks to Bettina for alerting me to this post.

The Spiegel article has been reprinted on www.shoa.de. The link is http://www.shoa.de/nachkriegsdeutschland/gedenkkulturen/2572-traumabewaeltigung-20.html.  The article is in printed in the German language.  By entering the link to the article into translate.google.com/, you can view the text in english.

The Hanna & Walter, A Love Story curriculum has now been published and is available through Voices Of The Generations.  Please see our web site for details, https://vogcharity.org/vog/the-hanna-walter-curriculum-project/

The article about Voices of the Generations that appeared recently in Der Spiegel has now been published in the largest on-line Jewish magazine in Germany.  haGalil.com presents Jewish news in the German language exclusively on the web.  The article may be found at http://www.hagalil.com/archiv/2010/06/02/kohner/

Thank you to Bettina Mikhail, a member of the Einestages community, for writing the article and seeing it through to publication.