Children, Grandchildren & Beyond of Survivors, Righteous Amongst the Nations and Liberators.

For far too many of the “next generation” the Holocaust is becoming little more than an asterisk in history. As Survivors, Righteous and Liberators die off under normal circumstances, sons and daughters, let alone grandchildren of the same, have little connection to the past and too often take for granted the horrors so many witnessed.

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The Next Generations Project

My Family’s Story

Creating a program for the “next generations” to never forget and help create a worldwide constituency to remember and engage in keeping that history alive is critical.

My parents and grandparents are both Righteous Amongst the Nations.   I had a chance to visit Israel with former Governor Mike Huckabee a few years ago and on our agenda was a stop at Yad Vashem.  Huckabee let the folks at Yad Vashem know that I was part of the delegation and they found a son of a Survivor whose mother my parents and grandparents helped escape the ghetto and get out of Lithuania during the Holocaust.  He is now a doctor in Haifa and I’m a public affairs consultant in the U.S. 

Yad Vashem organized a ceremony at the facility where they had the two of us lay a wreath at the eternal flame there.  It was a moving experience for all involved and we had a chance to share our parent’s stories and meet…which would have never happened under normal circumstances.  Yad Vashem has all the records and connections that would facilitate this program.

Both children of the Holocaust and their children and grandchildren tend to be accomplished professionals in their respected fields and participate in their home areas as opinion leaders and probably political influencers in their places of residence.

Connecting the next generations of Holocaust Survivors, Righteous and Liberators creates a powerful network of historical, civic, political and business leaders that can help ensure the world never forgets and that their respected communities bear witness to the history that is quickly fading without a personal connection.

A program like this could have all kinds of direct and side benefits for many of the challenges Israel and Jews face around the world as the memories and lessons of the Holocaust fade or are ignored.

This program will include:

-Connecting “next generations” Survivors, Righteous and Liberators generation after generation

-Organize trips to Israel for the “next generations” with students and young professionals

-Use their parents and grandparent’s stories as a “witness” to the Holocaust

-Engage the “next generations” in local/country specific political engagement

-Create a natural data base of “next generations” friends and allies in the greater cause

-Create a vehicle to education others and “next generations” to come

This is an effort that could have a long term, sustaining educational impact upon society. Additionally, it could have many side benefits and advantages for the greater good of the cause.

I share this in the spirit of someone who has witnessed the power of connecting the “next generation” and realizing the challenges history, politics and civic engagement faces today.

Saulius “Saul” Anuzis