History has unfairly tagged Pius XII as Hitler’s pope
Mark Milke, Calgary Herald
Published: Sunday, March 30, 2008
One benefit of an open society is the chance to engage in debate, and on that score, my Easter column on atheism set off a small flurry of responses.

While it’s impossible to properly address all matters here, one in particular is worth revisiting — the notion Adolf Hitler was Catholic, along with the idea that the Second World War-era pope, Pius XII, was “Hitler’s Pope.” That accusation, the title of a book a few years back, was repeated by Richard Dawkins in his latest polemic against religion, The God Delusion.

On Hitler’s alleged Catholicism, William Shirer, author of the 1960 classic The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, notes Hitler’s nominal Catholic upbringing. Other historians have also reprinted Nazi party statements that seem to indicate Hitler was sympathetic to Christianity.

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Etgar Lefkovits , THE JERUSALEM POST Mar. 30, 2008

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After years of delay, the Polish government aims to complete the issue of Holocaust property restitution by the end of the year, Polish Ambassador to Israel Agnieszka Magdziak-Miszewska said Sunday.

The core of a bill, which was accepted by the Polish parliament in draft form two years ago, is ready, and the Polish government hopes to reach a resolution by the end of the year, she said in a briefing with Israeli journalists.

The draft bill passed its initial reading in the previous parliament, but it needs to be reintroduced due to the recent change of government. The bill would pay 20 percent compensation to former property-owners - both Jewish and non-Jewish - whose property was seized during World War II.

Polish officials estimate that the Jewish-owned private property makes up nearly 20% of all property taken.

The biggest claimants are from non-Jewish Polish nobility whose assets - including lavish palaces - were confiscated.

Moreover, many of the areas populated by Jews ahead of WWII - the so-called Galicia region - are now located outside the boundaries of present-day Poland and fall in Ukraine.

Magdziak-Miszewska said it was important for Poland to finalize the agreement for both historical and economic reasons, since claimants who have taken their cases directly to Polish courts have been receiving 100% compensation for their property.

“It is [both] moral justice and the real economic interest of Poland to end this issue,” she said.

Magdziak-Miszewska said the Polish government was currently considering whether to increase the amount of compensation it would offer.

The total value of seized property is estimated to be around ˆ16 billion-ˆ18b. ($21b.-24b.), according to Polish groups working to attain the compensation.

A 1997 agreement has already started the process of public property restitution in Poland.

Magdziak-Miszewska’s remarks came ahead of next month’s visit to Israel by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The visit, which is the first such trip by a Polish premier in nearly nine years, comes as Israel plans its 60th anniversary and as burgeoning ties between Israel and Poland are now among the strongest in Europe.

“We try to balance traditionally old Europe’s one-sided Pro-Palestinian position,” Magdziak-Miszewska said. “Both countries need each other.”

Tusk’s visit also coincides with the inauguration of “Polish year” in Israel, an effort to increase cultural ties between the two countries.

Magdziak-Miszewska said gaps still existed despite the excellent governmental relations between the two countries, and the ties between the two societies.

To that end, a new youth exchange program will be launched between Israel and Poland next month, beyond the Holocaust education trips Israeli teens make to Poland each year.

“We need to work for the future - remembering the Shoah, but also 1,000 years of coexistence,” Magdziak-Miszewska said.

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Bulgaria accepts blame for 11,000 Holocaust deaths

Published: 03/28/2008

Bulgaria’s president accepted responsibility for the deaths of more than 11,000 Jews during World War II.

President Georgi Parvanov, during a visit this week to Israel, took responsibility for the deaths of 11,000 Jewish residents of Thrace and Macedonia, areas that were annexed to Bulgaria in April 1941, Israeli media reported.

Acting under Nazi orders, Bulgarian police arrested Jews in those territories and deported them to Treblinka in 1943. The history of those Jews often has been played down in the face of the saving of 48,000 Jews in Bulgaria proper by the country’s religious and political leaders.

“When we express justifiable pride at what we have done to save Jews, we do not forget that at the same time there was an anti-Semitic regime in Bulgaria and we do not shirk our responsibility for the fate of more than 11,000 Jews who were deported from Thrace and Macedonia to death camps,” Paranov said Thursday at the Israeli president’s residence in Jerusalem.

Parvanov, a member of the socialist — formerly Communist — party, is the first Bulgarian leader to accept responsibility for the deaths.

jta.org

We have a few important last minute announcements we’d like to make regarding the Visas for Life program at Ellis Island, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the Jewish History Center, the reception at the American Jewish Committee headquarters and the tour of the New York Tolerance Center.

FERRY TO ELLIS ISLAND

Thank you all for your overwhelming support for these programs. We have now had more than 300 RSVPs to the Ellis Island event for Sunday, March 30, 2008.

Due to this response, we are asking everyone to please contact the ferry company to purchase pre-reserved tickets by phone or on-line. This will ensure that you are able to board a ferry that will allow you to arrive at the Island before the opening program.

The ferry service has added several boats to the schedule to accommodate the program. The 9:30 boat is nearly sold out. You can also book the following alternative boats:

8:00 departure (7:30 check-in time)
8:30 departure (8:00 check-in time)
9:00 departure (8:30 check-in time)
9:30 departure (9:00 check-in time - there will be dedicated line for Visas for Life to expedite security screening at this departure time)
10:00 departure (9:30 check-in time)

The ferry takes approximately 40 minutes to arrive at Ellis Island after the departure time. The information for reserving tickets is as follows:

Statue Cruises
www.statuecruises.com
1-877-LADY-TIX
(1-877-523-9849)
Purchase the “New York - Reserve Ticket.”

There will be a dedicated security screening line for the attendees of the Visas for Life events for those taking the 9:30 boat. Please ask the Park rangers in uniform which line is for the event. This will expedite getting everybody onto the boat. We will have volunteers there to hand out tags indicating that you are attending the Visas for Life program. It is really important that you arrive early (well before the check-in time) so that you can get on the boat.

For those who need it, we will have wheelchairs available at the Ellis Island boat dock.

PROGRAM AT MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE

For those attending the Museum of Jewish Heritage tour and Visas for Life program on Monday, March 31, we need to make reservations for those who wish to have a box lunch. This will ensure that the caterers will have enough meals for everyone. The menu (which is strictly Kosher) will include choice of egg salad wrap, grilled vegetable wrap, tuna salad wrap, turkey breast wrap or grilled chicken wrap. The boxed lunches also include potato chips, an oversized cookie, and a beverage. The cost for the box lunches will be $10.95 per guest (including tax). Please bring cash or a check for $10.95 made out to: Visas for Life. For our planning purposes, please indicate the number of people in your party who will be attending and the number of boxed lunches:

Number of boxed lunches to be purchased: ______

Number who will attend program but will NOT purchase boxed lunch: ______

I would encourage everybody to attend the program at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. It will be a very interesting afternoon seminar on Americans who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. We will have families of famous American diplomats who saved Jews. These will include the families of Hiram “Harry” Bingham, Ambassador Laurence Steinhardt, and Myles Standish. There will also be representatives from the families of leaders of the War Refugee Board. The niece of Raoul Wallenberg, Louise von Dardel, will be talking about the role of her uncle in saving Jews in Budapest as representative of the War Refugee Board. We are also expecting the son of Henry Morgenthau, who was responsible for creating the War Refugee Board, which resulted in the rescue of more than 200,000 Jews in Europe. Also attending will be Harold Ickes, Jr., who is the son of US Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, who did much to advocate the rescue of Jews in the Roosevelt administration. A special guest will be Ruth Gruber, who-as many of you know-helped to save 1,000 Jewish refugees from Italy during the war.

In addition, there will be a short presentation by Three Crowns Theatricals of a very moving musical play on Raoul Wallenberg.

AJC RECEPTION

We also want to get confirmation for those attending the reception at the American Jewish Committee headquarters in New York. The reception will be from 5:00-6:30 pm. at 165 East 56th Street in Manhattan. The AJC is one of the major sponsors of the Ellis Island exhibit.

PROGRAM AT JEWISH HISTORY CENTER/YIVO

I want to remind everyone that we’ll be having a wonderful program at the Jewish History Center on Tuesday, April 1. This will be a special insider tour of the Center, plus an afternoon seminar on diplomatic rescue. The seminar will be very interesting. We will hear stories from the families of: George Mandel Mantello, the famous Jewish diplomat representing El Salvador; Tadeusz Brzezinski, the Polish diplomat from Prague; Charles Lutz, the Swiss diplomat who saved thousands of Jews in Budapest, Hungary; Paul Komor, the Hungarian diplomat and founder of the International Committee for the Relief of European Jews in Shanghai, China; Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Portuguese diplomat who saved thousands of Jews in Bordeaux, France. I would encourage you to attend this important and interesting program. The Jewish History Center is located at 15 West 16th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues) in Manhattan.

TOUR OF NEW YORK TOLERANCE CENTER

We would encourage you to attend a special program on Tuesday, April 1, from 3:15-4:30 p.m. This will be a tour of the New York Tolerance Center, 226 East 42nd Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues), New York (tel. 212-697-1180, nytcinfo {at} swcny(.)com). The New York Tolerance Center, in the heart of Manhattan, is a professional development multi-media training facility targeting educators, law enforcement officials, and state/local government practitioners. Through interactive workshops, exhibits, and videos, individuals explore issues of prejudice, diversity, tolerance, and cooperation in the workplace and in the community. The Tolerance Center is part of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The Simon Wiesenthal Center has been a major sponsor of the Visas for Life project for more than ten years.

For your reference, I am attaching a program for you with the finalized schedule of the Visas for Life programs in New York City. Please download it and bring it with you as a reference for all the activities.

Thanks to all of you for your help and encouragement.

Look forward to seeing you all soon!

Eric Saul
Executive Director
Visas for Life: The Righteous and Honorable Diplomats Project
Institute for the Study of Rescue and Altruism in the Holocaust, a nonprofit corporation
810 Windwood Place
Morgantown, WV 26505
(304) 599-0614
VisasForLife {at} cs(.)com

By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Dorner Commission

The Dorner Commission on the government’s treatment of Holocaust survivors on Sunday ended the hearings phase of its work with testimony by Reuven Merhav, executive committee chairman of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany. The commission will now begin its deliberations and submit its report in a month.

Merhav insisted on testifying despite retired justice Dalia Dorner’s assertion that the Claims Conference is an American organization and outside the commission’s purview. However, Merhav reportedly wanted to set the record straight following criticism of Claims Conference policies over the past year.

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March 11, 2008 — The Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, committed yesterday at a meeting with Jewish organizations in New York that the Polish government will soon address the issue of private property restitution.

The meeting at the Polish Consulate in New York was with the Claims Conference and other Jewish organizations. Together with the World Jewish Restitution Organization, the Claims Conference has been pressing the issue of Polish property restitution legislation.

The Prime Minister was urged to introduce at an early date, comprehensive legislation to address the return of Holocaust era confiscated private property. He responded that legislation on reprivitization of property to deal with this matter would be introduced in the Sejm (the Polish parliament) in the Spring and that he would make every effort possible to ensure that it would be passed by the Fall.

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Chancellor Merkel addressed the Israeli parliament on Tuesday amid controversy - some MPs boycotted the speech while Hamas slammed Merkel for being blind to what it called Israel’s “Holocaust” against Palestinians.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s three-day solidarity visit to Israel to mark the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Jewish state following the Nazi holocaust climaxed with a historic speech to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament on Tuesday, March 17.

The 53-year-old became the first German head of government to address the Knesset, an honor normally reserved for heads of state.

Merkel told Israel’s parliament that Germans are filled with shame over the Nazi Holocaust and that she bows before the victims. In an emotional speech, delivered in German and a smattering of Hebrew, Merkel said her country will always be committed to Israel’s security, particularly in light of growing threats from Iran.

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A special normalcy

By Haaretz Editorial

Tags: world war two, germany

Ever since World War II, Germany’s leaders have sought to make their country “normal.” Its participation in ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of “that war,” and the festivities that Germany, along with her former enemies, held in honor of the liberation from the Nazi yoke, gave “normalcy” a meaning it had never had before. Some would draw a straight line between those events and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s current visit to Israel. Her visit did not generate front-page headlines here; in the public discourse, Germany has become an almost “normal” partner of the Jewish state.

How can this be explained? In the first place, Merkel’s visit was not the first visit to Israel by a German chancellor. Omitting Konrad Adenauer - who was no longer chancellor when he visited here in 1966 - still leaves us with visits by Willy Brandt, Helmut Kohl (twice) and Gerhard Schroeder. Presidents Richard von Weizsacker, Roman Herzog, Johannes Rau and Horst Koehler also visited Israel, and the latter two also addressed the Knesset, in German

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By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent

Power struggles between the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany and Pensioner Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan, who was appointed by the government to oversee the issue of Holocaust-era property claims, is delaying the revival of the operation of the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO).

WJRO was established in the early 1990s, around the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the Iron Curtain, by the Israeli government, the Jewish Agency and the World Jewish Congress. It acted to restore Jewish property in Eastern European countries that was stolen and nationalized during the Holocaust and afterward. For most of its existence, the WJRO chalked up few successes, mainly due to a lack of interest or support on the part of the Israeli government and Jewish organizations.

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Date Posted: March 13, 2008 Comment E-mail Print
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iVolunteer will be hosting its first annual Purim Party on March 20, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the 92nd Street Y (1395 Lexington Ave) in Manhattan. This event is an opportunity for our friends and neighbors to join together for an evening of merriment while we celebrate the Purim holiday. There will be great food, music, and activities to participate in including a reading of the Megilla.

iVolunteer began in September 2007 and consists of a dynamic team of over 35 volunteers who visit Holocaust survivors in their homes throughout Manhattan.

The program’s name, iVolunteer, illustrates the goal of this unique visiting program, which brings caring neighborhood volunteers into the homes of Holocaust survivors. During their visits, volunteers read to survivors, escort them to doctors’ appointments and assist with shopping and light household tasks. These weekly visits enrich the lives of survivors and volunteers alike, and guarantee that the experience of the Holocaust will not be forgotten. iVolunteer fosters a sense of community by providing both survivors and volunteers with social events and special programs. These programs include monthly Friday night dinners for the volunteers and luncheons for survivors.

iVolunteer volunteers come from all walks of life. Many of them are professionals who want to make a difference in the lives of their neighbors. Others are local high school and college students who are excited by the chance to reach across the generations and establish a friendship with a senior who has a uniquely individual experience.

All iVolunteer volunteers are screened and trained prior to beginning their home visits. In particular, the volunteers are trained to identify the Holocaust survivor’s other social service needs, so that iVolunteer can bring in an outreach caseworker to help the senior access additional benefits and services when necessary. Volunteers communicate regularly with the iVolunteer directors, Tzvi and Elisheva Tauby, who work to ensure that every senior, and every volunteer, is satisfied with and gaining from the relationship. Mrs. Tauby also makes an initial assessment visit to each senior’s home in order to assess his/her needs and concerns. “When I visit with a survivor, I feel so privileged to be able to get to know such unbelievable people and hope to assist them in any way I can,” Tauby explains. “When I speak with volunteers, they often say that they got a lot more than they gave.”

If you know of a Holocaust survivor who would like to be a part of this program, or if you would like to participate in an iVolunteer initiative, please call (646) 461.7748, or email sheva {at} ivolunteerny(.)com.