On Sunday, October 3rd, I will be presenting an online talk (via Zoom) about the long-term effects of intergenerational transmission in descendants of Holocaust survivors. This presentation is part of a two-day conference organized by the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR), the national charity supporting Holocaust refugees and survivors living in Great Britain. This year AJR celebrates their 80th anniversary and, while the organization continues to support survivors, now nearly 50% of the members are of the ‘next generations’. The AJR is a member of the UK delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
AJR’s International Forum: Connecting Next Generations which will take place on Sunday 3rd & Monday 4th October 2021. Sunday 3rd October will be online only, while Monday 4th October will be both in person at Chelsea Football Club’s Stamford Bridge in London and simultaneously online. This conference is open for the public for a fee of 10 English pounds for one day and 15 pounds for two days. You can register through the link provided below.
AJR also holds an online bookclub, which might be of particular interest to many of us. In addition, AJR has an online testimony project, the life stories of Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors in the form of individual books that are available online and meant to serve as treasured memories and to raise awareness about the Holocaust and Nazi oppression. To find out more about AJR’s testimony projects, read the My Story books online and visit the Refugee Voices website.
Debra Barnes, who is the director of Next Generations, Communication & My Story Project in the AJR, has written a novel titled “The Young Survivors”, inspired by her own family’s experiences during the Holocaust. The novel, written particularly with younger readers in mind, was discussed by the author on WW2TV channnel only a couple of weeks ago, and you can listen to the conversation at https://youtu.be/HRWe5fpAdJs.
For more information about the conference, and to register for the event, click on the image below. My presentation will take place on Sunday 3rd October at 2 pm UK time, which is 9 am EDT.
Irit Felsen
Thank you Irit for speaking at AJR’s conference. You touched many with your excellent presentation, as reflected in the feedback and comments received from the participants. Here are a few examples: “Irit Felsen was spectacular”, “I was particularly impressed by Irit Felsen’s presentation yesterday which really resonated with me”, “Irit’s presentation really did connect with me very much. I was particularly heartened by the response Irit gave to the question of the importance of the use of art in conveying the experience of the impact on second generation and was interested in the artists whose work she referenced”. Your keynote speech will be uploaded soon to our YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/c/TheAssociationofJewishRefugees] and I urge anyone with Holocaust survivor parents or grandparents to watch it. We look forward to collaborating with you again in the future.
Dear Debra,
It was an honor to be invited to speak at your event. I only wish we could have met in person, but hope this will be possible again sometime in the future. I value tremendously the work you do, and am excited to read your book, “The Young Survivors”!
Sending you best wishes to London,
Warmly, Irit