May 19, 2011
Fifth Avenue Synagogue
We thank all who joined us to discuss our unique family history and its effects on our families’ lives and ours.
We also thank Amira Kohn-Trattner, L.C.S.W., who led our discussion, as well as the Fifth Avenue Synagogue for hosting us.
About the speaker:
Amira Kohn-Trattner, L.C.S.W., is an Israeli-born psychotherapist/psychoanalyst in private practice in New York. Amira works with individuals and couples and has extensive experience with survivors, 2nd and 3rd generation.
She has been a consultant to the German government in restitution cases as an advocate to survivors and volunteered at international conferences for the US Holocaust Museum and the Shoah Foundation.
March 29, 2006
Our group discussion was a success as everyone had their voices heard on several important issues. We’d like to thank the Jewish Enrichment Center for hosting us. Please view the attachment for a full event summary.
November 29, 2005
We had fun learning a little Yiddish — about its roots and how mainstream it’s become. Some of us also shared the Yiddish we heard growing up. A special thanks to our guests, Myra Mniewski of Yugntruf (Call to Youth), and Corey Breier of the Yiddish Theatrical Alliance.
We learned about its background, place in American culture, place in our lives, and briefly discussed its future.
You can download a full meeting summary by clicking here.
April 18, 2005
After everyone introduced themselves and shared a little of their family history, we discussed the following:
- Yom Hashoah and our past participation. There were also announcements of upcoming commemoration events.
- Holocaust Denial, which included a reading of Deborah Lipstadt’s letter to the Times about C-SPAN’s coverage of her book “History on Trial”. We talked about deniers, delegitimizers and their motivations.
- What’s the meaning of 3G Activism? We did try to define what activism would mean to this group. Is it enough to meet once a month and talk about issues or should our goals be more broad? There was a consensus not to rush into group activism until we have a well-defined purpose and message.
March 23, 2005
Sorry you guys couldn’t make the meeting Wednesday. It was a great turnout. We discussed a lot of issues and everyone was eager to speak. I’ve attached some materials which I handed out at the meeting: a copy of the group’s agenda/outliine, which was discussed briefly, and a survey which everyone filled out. Information for two upcoming events can be found on pages 3 and 4. One event is a fundraiser for Yad Vashem and the other a film screening and discussion for “Anew Generation,” a 2G-3G group in Manhattan.
When you have the time, please fill out the survey (make bold your selections) and email back. Or you can print and bring them to our next meeting.
I’ll soon email everyone a summary of Wednesday, and info on the next meeting.
Have a great weekend,
Daniel
February 23, 2005
I want to thank those who participated in Wednesday night’s meeting. I look forward to meeting those unable to attend, and others. It was nice to take in a piece of everyone’s family story, even if it was in condensed form. It was also gratifying to finally hear our generation’s perspective on, among other issues, the current meaning of the Holocaust and the effects it has had on our families.
We exchanged ideas on adopting a mission statement, but ultimately agreed that right now it is not vital. Goals and objectives — even the group’s name — should evolve as the group does. We should eventually assume an activist role, but we’ll start by coming together to explore the significance of our being grandchildren of survivors. Just by getting together Wednesday, we realized an immediate and fundamental purpose for the group:
A forum dedicated specifically to the grandchildren of Survivors; a place where 3rd gen. can come to be heard and connect with each
other.
At the end of the meeting, the group agreed to move forward in three areas:
- Outreach — We all volunteered to help increase awarenes of the group, either through word-of-mouth, email forwards or phone calls to local orgs and Hillels.
- Support — Several of us, including myself, will inquire with Jewish/Holocaust orgs about potential sponsorship and promotion.
- Communication — I am in the process of setting up a group website.
I’ll pass along the address when complete.
FYI: Our next meeting is scheduled for March 23, 7:30pm, at Makor.
Have a great weekend,
DB
