The Luire Cave, in the Vercors region of south-central France was the scene of a desperate, yet heroic fight between hospitalized French Resistance fighters and German soldiers battling the onslaught of the Allied Invasion in July 1944. It was here that a brief roadside stop on a recent driving tour of this serene mountainous region near the Rhone River Valley led to my discovery of another element in the effort to defeat Naziism.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Resistance): The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi occupiers of France and against the collaborationist Vichy regime during World War II. Résistance cells were small groups of armed men and women who, in addition to their guerrilla warfare activities, were also publishers of underground newspapers, providers of first-hand intelligence information, and maintainers of escape networks that helped Allied soldiers and airmen trapped behind enemy lines. The men and women of the Résistance came from all economic levels and political leanings of French society, including emigres, conservative Roman Catholics, including priests; members of the Jewish community; and citizens from the ranks of liberals, anarchists, and communists.

In the region of Saint-Agnan-en Vercors, a medical service was set up in February 1944. A hospital for 60 patients, and several medical aid stations for French Resistance and Allied combat forces were established in the region.  In mid-July 1944, the Nazis launched a vast operation in the region.  Nearly 100 wounded resistance fighters in the hospital at Saint Martin-en-Vercors had to be evacuated, and were taken to the Luire cave, deep in the forest outside of town. With the German attacks intensifying, the least wounded fled into the forest. On July 27, German soldiers arrived at the cave, and in spite of the Red Cross sign, started shooting the remaining hospital patients. Some patients were executed on site, others taken as prisoners to Grenoble. Doctors, nurses and other medical staff were deported to Ravensbruck.

September 27, 2011, was the start of a memorable day as part of my recent visit to Paris, France.  I met with Fabrice Teicher and Jacques-Olivier David of the Memorial de la Shoah (http://www.memorialdelashoah.org/getHomeAction.do?langage=en) to discuss and share Holocaust education ideas.  The Memorial sponsors international, teacher training, and specialized educational programs for school age children as young as age 8. It was a great opportunity to meet both Fabrice and Jacques- Olivier, we discussed the possibility of Voices of the Generations making a future presentation at the Memorial.  When Hanna & Walter, A Love Story (https://vogcharity.org/vog/hanna-walter-a-love-story-2/) was first published in 1984, it was translated into several languages including French.  It is my hope to someday have the book translated again, and available to French speaking students and the public as a personal account of my parents story. We also hope to find support for translation of the Hanna & Walter curriculum into French (currently available in English and German.)

This Is Your Life, Hanna Bloch Kohner was presented on October 5, 2011, at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago.  A wonderful blog post, written by Jan Lisa Huttner, discussing the event and the episode can be read here: http://www.juf.org/news/blog.aspx?id=412639&blogid=13573.  This is another stop for  the UCLA Film and Television Archive Festival of Preservation.

UCLA Festival of Preservation brought This Is Your Life, Holocaust Survivors to the Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive (BAM PFA) at the University of California, Berkeley on Sunday, September 18.  Julie Kohner, was the invited guest speaker, and presented an introduction toVoices of the Generations and the This Is Your Life presentation.  Audience members engaged in a question & answer session after This Is Your Life, Hanna Bloch Kohner.

Look for Voices of the Generations at the Jewish Film Festival on November 20, 2011 in Vancouver, British Columbia at the Pacific Cinematheque.

Thank you to Alejandra Espansande and Cinecito Productions for this wonderful short subject film about Voices of the Generations.  This is an important step in keeping the memories and the stories alive.

The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC  recently hosted the UCLA Festival of Preservation film series. Among the restored films presented on Sunday, August 14, 2011 were episodes of This Is Your Life, featuring the life stories of three Holocaust survivors, Hanna Kohner, Ilsa Stanley, and Sara Veffer.

Joanna Raczynska, from the National Gallery of Art Department of Film Programs, provided an overview of the programs and introduced Julie Kohner, founder of  Voices of the Generations.  Julie presented introductory remarks, and led a discussion afterwards. Among the questions raised, was one by a member of the audience who wanted to know how the sponsor of This Is Your Life agreed to support a television program on such a topic, eight years after the end of the war.  This is a question that deserves an answer, as even in our time of open media, questions are asked as to what is appropriate or not.

Photo above is from This Is Your Life, Sara Veffer.  Mrs. Veffer is shown sitting center.

Julie had the pleasure to meet Carolynne Veffer, visiting from Toronto, Canada, and granddaughter of Sara Veffer, one of the three subjects of the “This Is Your Life” programs featuring Holocaust Survivors.

Special thanks to the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC for hosting this event, and to the Ralph & Barbara Edwards Family Foundation and UCLA Film and TV Archive for making this travel possible.

Julie Kohner (Founder of Voices of the Generations) and Aviva Weintraub (Director of the Jewish Film Festival) held a Q&A session after the showing of “This Is Your Life, Hanna Bloch Kohner”, at the Walter Reade Theater, Lincoln Center, on Sunday, July 14, 2011.

Book signing following the presentation of “This Is Your Life, Hanna Bloch Kohner”.

Julie at the UCLA Festival of Preservation event held at Lincoln Center, New York.

Julie Kohner, founder of Voices of the Generations, will be speaking on Sunday, July 17, at the Walter Read Theater at Lincoln Center, New York City.  Julie is traveling with the UCLA Festival of Preservation, which showcases classic and rare film and TV titles restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Hailed by The Los Angeles Times as “the city’s most surprising, most stimulating, most invigorating film event,” the festival now heads east for its premiere New York engagement.

Julie will be speaking and participating in Q&A at the 12:30 presentation of three episodes of “This Is Your Life”  featuring three exceptional women—all survivors of the Holocaust. The Q&A will be moderated by Aviva Weintraub, Associate Curator of The Jewish Museum and Director of the New York Jewish Film Festival.

For more information, please click on the link below

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/series/ucla-festival-of-preservation

I have recently returned from an exciting VOG trip to Florida, visiting synagogues and schools.  The trip began on Thursday, April 28, with a teacher training session hosted by the Commission for Jewish Education (CJE) in West Palm Beach in which the VOG curriculum was introduced.  In addition, CJE helped to organize speaking engagements at Temple Shaarei Shalom in Boynton Beach, Temple Israel in West Palm Beach, Temple Beth Torah in Wellington, Arthur I. Meyer Jewish Academy in West Palm Beach, Congregation L’Dor Va Dor in Lake Worth.  In addition, I was also a guest speaker at Congregation Kol Tikvah in Parkland.
Below are some photos and testimonials from my recent visit.  A heartfelt thank you for inviting Voices of the Generations to your congregations. – Julie

“Julie’s presentation of her parents’ life before, during and after the Holocaust shines a bright light in everyone’s eyes.  Remembering the days of strife and ending in a love story that lives beyond the test of time is truly both remarkable and heartwarming.” Beth Pennamacoor, Cantorial Soloist/Director of Education, Temple Beit HaYam,  Stuart, Florida.   

“Ms. Kohner presented an extraordinarily moving personal story that touched our members deeply. Hearing the experiences of her family helped us place the events of the Holocaust and the lives of the survivors after the War into a more understandable framework for both the adults and the youngsters who were privileged to share her presentation.” Rabbi Pinsky Temple Beth Torah, Wellington, Florida 

”Julie’s unique presentation offered a fresh way to remember the Holocaust. Our teens were especially captivated by viewing the footage from “This is Your Life.”  It was powerful to see how pop culture in America attempted to address the issues of the Holocaust less than 10 years after the end of WWII.  I recommend that every Jewish organization invite Julie to visit and share her mother’s story.”  Debbie Hafetz -Ed. Dir., Congregation Kol Tikvah Parkland Florida

“Julie’s presentation was beyond our expectation! She had everyone in the room crying! She touched the souls of our teachers, students, parents and congregations,  Our entire community benefited from learning about her mother’s devastating experiences during the Holocaust and the courage and inspiration of her survival.”  Robyn Hurvitz, Director of Professional Development, Friedman Commission for Jewish Education