ATTENTION HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS: YOUR TESTIMONIES CAN HELP DEFEAT IRAN'S HOLOCAUST DENIAL CAMPAIGN

I received this email today from the wonderful Wiesenthal Center:

ATTENTION HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS: YOUR TESTIMONIES CAN HELP DEFEAT IRAN'S HOLOCAUST DENIAL CAMPAIGN. PLEASE SEND US YOUR TESTIMONIES TODAY!
On Monday, December 11, 2006 the Simon Wiesenthal Center will convene “Witness To The Truth,” a videoconference of 70 survivors of the Nazi Holocaust in Los Angeles, New York and the Toronto headquarters of Canadian Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center who will present their personal testimonies to debunk the Iranian regime's conference entitled “The Holocaust: A World Prospect” taking place on December 11-12. The conference organizers have indicated that 70 Holocaust revisionists from 30 countries will participate. The Tehran conference, sponsored by the Iranian government, comes after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the Nazi Holocaust ‘a myth.’

We are therefore asking Holocaust survivors from around the world to join in our conference and debunk the deniers by sending their testimoniesby fax: 310-553-4521 or e-mail: witnesstothetruth@wiesenthal.net to the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

“Witness to the Truth” will be held at the Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance and linked by videoconference to the Center’s New York Tolerancenter and its Toronto office. In Los Angeles, artifacts from the Nazi's Final solution from the Center’s historical archives will be on display.

We thank Holocaust survivors for their courage and commitment and for once again sharing their painful legacy.

Please send your testimonies to the Simon Wiesenthal Center:
Fax: 310-553-4521 Email: witnesstothetruth@wiesenthal.net
Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1399 South Roxbury Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90035
310.553.9036 www.wiesenthal.com

I sent this email to many people and here is the response from Liz:

"Marge,

I must tell you this story.

My niece Stephanie told me about a little synagogue on Broome Street (lower east side) which is also a holocaust museum. It is a special museum because it targets the area in Greece where I was born, Ionnina, and the 3,000 or so Jews who perished at Auschwitz.

Stephanie asked me to donate copies of old family photos which I was happy to do. We went last Sunday and met the curator, a lovely woman named Marcia. As I showed Marcia the photos, one in particular was of my mother, who at the time was 16 years old, and her eldest sister, my Aunt Astro (unusual name but not for the community as I found out later). Astro had two children who were also in the picture. I could not remember their names. Marcia promptly pulled out a book and read aloud the children's names! I turned to her in total amazement and said, "You're freakin me out here!" She told me there was a wall with the names of all the people of my village that perished at the camps in Ionnina. I cried. She gave me a copy of the book and I read all the names of my family members who I never met but always heard about. Needless to say, I was a mess for the rest of the day. I went home and slept for two hours."

How about that for a story?"

Yes, Liz, indeed, how about that for a story, a story that must be shared. And thank you for doing so.