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SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE'S 5TH ANNUAL MUSEUM DAY

ECHOES OF THE HOLOCAUST


WPBT2 Premiere on Wednesday, September 23 at 8:00 p.m.

 

To the survivors who frequent it, this is holy ground . . . a Jewish cemetery for the countless souls who perished during the Holocaust, and for whom no grave stone, burial marker or final resting place exists. But the true power of the Holocaust Memorial of Miami Beach can be witnessed when survivors - serving as docents or guides – begin gathering . . . to tell their stories of survival to school children, tourists and visitor groups from across the globe.
 
ECHOES OF THE HOLOCAUST, premiering September 23rd at 8:00pm on WPBT2, offers an intimate look at four of the survivor docents as they conduct tours of the memorial, but the tours aren’t just informational. The docents relive personal tragedies, of their loved ones who perished and their own private terror, pain and humiliations, and the occasional light of a miracle.
 
These witnesses to history are the Memorial’s watchmen and women. And for the past two decades, they have come . . . every day, rain or shine, as part of a sacred obligation: to never forget.




 
From the day the Memorial opened, the landscape of Miami Beach was forever changed. Suddenly, in the heart of one of the world’s great tourist cities, rose a stark reminder and stunning symbol of anguish and tragedy; a towering visual epitaph to one of the darkest chapters in human history. But for all its serene beauty and stark power, the Memorial’s innermost dimensions can only be revealed when the survivor docents are here and bring it to life.
 
In 2006, the Memorial’s leaders embarked on a mission to preserve some of the survivor’s tours on film, so that the echoes of their words live on. With each passing year, there are fewer survivors left. When the Holocaust Memorial of Miami Beach opened in 1990, there were 25 survivor docents giving tours. The following short films capture four of the Memorial’s remaining survivors.
 
Joe Dziubak:
Born in Lodz Poland in 1925, Dziubak was only fourteen when trapped in the deadly confines of the Lodz Ghetto. When the Ghetto was liquidated in 1944 he was taken to Auschwitz where he said goodbye to his family for the last time. Liberated in 1945, Joe returned to Germany as a US Army soldier during the Korean War.

David Schaecter:
Born in the wine country of Slovakia in 1929, Schaecter was only eleven when thrust into the bitter darkness of Auschwitz. By the time he was rescued by the Czechoslovakian underground in 1945, he had lost 105 relatives to the ravages of the Holocaust.  The only known survivor of his family, David is a Founder of the Holocaust Memorial of Miami Beach.
  
Ann Rosenheck:
Born in the Czech city of Rachov, Rosenheck was only thirteen when her friends abandoned her in the shadow of Nazi anti-Semitism. Rounded up with her family she was sent to Auschwitz.  Sentenced to death by Dr. Mengele himself, Ann miraculously avoided the crematoria. She was later rescued by American GIs, but her entire family would perish.
 
Morris Rosenblatt:
After his town in Poland was occupied by the Nazis, Rosenblatt and his family were cast into the notorious Lodz Ghetto.  Ultimately deported to Auschwitz, he considered his survival a miracle.  Morris and his brother escaped the Nazis, but their entire family perished in the Holocaust.

 

Their stories are testimony to the indomitable human spirit and presented in this context, on the grounds of the Holocaust Memorial of Miami Beach, they serve as both a living history and reminder to never forget. 

 

ECHOES OF THE HOLOCAUST was directed by Jerry Levine and produced by David Michael Scharlin and Charles Treister

 

This film was made possible through generous grants from The Holocaust Memorial, Greater Miami Jewish Federation, The State of Florida Dept. of Education, The Robert Russell Foundation,the Family and Friends of Morris Rosenblatt, z”l, Andy and Adam Hall, Ezra Katz, and Gloria Scharlin

 

Comments

Alison Goldner

I don't know if this is the same Joe Dziubak related to my mom. Her name is Elaine Hoffman. Born in 1928 in Brooklyn, NY. Daughter of Joe and Libby Hoffman. I am trying to locate him. Last that we heard, he was living in Florida?

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