Roddie Edmonds was a Master Sergeant in the United States Army. In late 1944, Edmonds was captured in the Battle of the Bulge and held at a German POW camp. In January 1945, the Nazis ordered all Jewish-American POWs to step forward. Edmonds, the highest-ranking noncommissioned officer at the camp, […]
The Ritchie Boys were a special group of U.S. soldiers; many of which were German-born Jews who escaped the Nazis, fled to America and joined the U.S. Army. Understanding the German language and culture allowed the soldiers to better interrogate prisoners of war, translate and intercept messages and engage in […]
Check out this flower in the shape of a Star of David. Wishing you a Happy Shavuot.
Bob Dylan is Best Man at the wedding of longtime friend, Louie Kemp in 1983. The decades long friendship first started in 1953 at a Jewish summer camp in Wisconsin. Photo: Louie Kemp
Raoul Wallenberg’s death remains a mystery to this day. The Swedish diplomat is responsible for saving 100,000 Jewish lives during WWII. Here’s his story. Wallenberg was born on August 4, 1912, to a prominent well-respected family in Sweden. Following his Swedish military service, Wallenberg studied in Paris and in 1931 […]
In 1967, Israeli paratroopers broke through Jerusalem in the 6-day-war ending decades of oppression against Jews in the Holy City. In this iconic picture, the three paratroopers who were photographed standing at the Western Wall are pictured together again 50 years later. #jerusalemday Photos: David Rubinger Government Press Office/ Sharon […]
Jack Pomeranc was born in Vlodowa, Poland and his life was defined by incredible resilience and bravery. As a Holocaust survivor, he witnessed unspeakable horrors, including the loss of his parents, Eliezer and Bellaita, and two sisters, Channa and Mateleh in a mass execution at the Adampol labor camp in […]
‘Life is Beautiful’, the beloved movie and Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, was inspired by Holocaust survivor Rubino Romeo Salmoni. Director Roberto Benigni read Rubino’s book, ‘In the End, I Beat Hitler’, based on his experiences as a survivor of Auschwitz, which inspired the movie. An Italian […]
How does a Rabbi use martial arts to help kids with cancer? Here’s the story. This is Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg, a first-degree black belt in Choi Kwang Do, former Rabbi to Young Israel of Southfield, Michigan and clinical assistant professor in pediatrics at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. […]
These are my grandparents. These are my grandparents. This photo was taken on the Lower East Side of New York. My grandmother Miriam was born in the old city of Jerusalem on December 10, 1920. Her mother was born in Jerusalem as was her grandmother, great grandmother and so on. […]
This is Miep Gies. She was the last remaining survivor who helped in hiding the Frank family during WWII. Miep was born to a Catholic family in Vienna on February 15, 1909. Following WWI, conditions in Austria worsened and food supplies were sparse, Miep’s parents sent her to the Netherlands […]
Erich Schwam died at 90 years old. In his Will, he left $2M+ to the French village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in thanks to the town for hiding and saving his family during WWII. Schwam arrived to the village with his parents in 1943. The family was saved by local residents […]
“Israel is the first country in the history of the world to bring humans from Africa not to enslave them, but to set them free.” – Colin Powell, Former US National Security Advisor In May of 1991, Ethiopia was coming to the end of its long civil war and the […]
In this photo is Audrey Hepburn with Otto Frank, Anne’s father. Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4, 1929. The actress is best known for such films as Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but did you know that she turned down playing the role of Anne Frank? Here’s why. […]
Golda Meir. • May 3, 1898, born Golda Mabovitch in Kiev.• 1906, Golda moved from Kiev to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.• 1916-1917, Golda attended what is now the University of Wisonsin-Milwaukee.• 1921, Golda and her husband, Morris Meyerson, moved from the U.S. to a kibbutz.• May 14, 1948, Golda was one of […]
Before Marcel Marceau became a world-famous mime, he was responsible for saving the lives of Jewish children during WWII. Marceau was born Marcel Mangel on March 22, 1923. When he was 16 years old his family had to flee their home in France. Soon after, he joined the French Resistance […]
What’s the deal with birthdays? Jerry Seinfeld was born in Brooklyn on April 29, 1954. His parents were both orphans and married when they were in their 40’s; his father Kalman was of Austrian descent, known to have collected jokes while serving in WWII and his mother Betty Hesney was […]
Oskar Schindler was born on April 28, 1908. Pictured here are Holocaust survivors saved by Schindler along with individuals from the “Schindler’s List” movie, standing next to his grave in Jerusalem. Oskar Schindler was responsible for saving the lives of 1,200 Jews and in 1993 he was recognized as Righteous […]
Spotted in NYC: The Empire State Building shining Blue + White in celebration of Israel’s 75th Independence Day #YomHaatzmaut
Today, on this day of remembrance for the Fallen of our Israel, my mother turns 96. Born in Beeregsasz in Hungary/Czechia/Romania/Ukraine, half-orphaned in her teens, she moved to Budapest with her father and brother, just in time to face removal to the Ghetto. At 17, wearing the yellow star, she […]
They may not be with us, but they are always in our hearts. #YomHaZikaron Israel Remembrance Day Source: Eyal Mass Photographer
Happy Birthday to Barbra Streisand! Born in Brooklyn, New York on April 24, 1942, Streisand is one of the best-selling artists of all time. Good voices run in her family, Barbra’s mother was a soprano, and her grandfather was a cantor from the Russian Empire. In 1956, she attended a […]
Holocaust survivors arrive at the Haifa Port, 1945. Photo: Zoltan Kluger, Government Press Office
“My grandfather came to America as a very poor immigrant during WWI. His father, a German Jew went AWOL from the the German army during the war in 1914. When WWII broke out, my grandfather voluntarily enlisted in the US army to help fight the Nazis. He flew over 40 […]
Approximately 1.5 million children were murdered during the Holocaust. Chaim Rafael Gertel z”l was one of those children. Chaim Rafael was born in Hrubieszów, Poland. When the Germans declared that the town was to be Judenrein (“clean of Jews”) in October 1942, Chaim and his mother went into hiding along […]
Meet Holocaust survivors Matilda and Samuel Gertel. Born in Uściług, Poland (now Ukraine), Matilda (née Topole) was just a teenager when the war broke out. When the Nazis invaded, she immediately ran home only to find that her father had been killed as an example to others. Matilda, along with […]
Colonel Ilan Ramon passed away 20 years ago today on February 1, 2003; he was an Israeli Air Force fighter pilot and Israel’s first astronaut for NASA. Ilan Ramon, Born Ilan Wolferman, was born in Israel on June 20, 1954. Ramon was the space shuttle payload specialist of STS-107, the […]
Happy Birthday, DVF! Diane von Fürstenberg (née Diane Simone Michelle Halfin) is a Belgian-American fashion designer best known for her iconic wrap dress design — a timeless staple in women’s fashion. Born on December 31, 1946 in Brussels, Diane was raised by Jewish parents who had just survived the Holocaust. […]
Stepping into 2023 with Jewish pride. Check out these sneakers laced up in a Jewish star.
New Year’s Eve? That was so 3 months ago.
Bubby Tuchman survived the Holocaust and lit over 100 shabbat candles for each of her descendants. May her memory be a blessing. Source: Rabbi Levi Duchman
