September 2023
The Founding members of Asociatia Tikvah decided in June 2023 to start the process of dissolving their not for profit association. It is a process which takes several months. It was finally concluded in May 2024 and the Asociatia no longer exists.
A number of volunteers have come forward to maintain this website as it contains many unique contributions and they do not wish it be unavailable for families of those lost in the Holocaust, researchers, teachers and the general public who may wish to know about this dark period of history of Oradea and Northern Transylvania.
Tikvah posted News on this website from when they became active back in 2011 until 2018 when, due to limited resources, they chose to focus upon the Tikvah Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/tikva
27 January 2018
Today, on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we remember those who suffered and perished in the Holocaust, including the tens of thousands from Oradea who were sent on forced labour or who were deported to that death camp.
Asociatia Tikvah has created a short film aimed as an educational resource for pupils, "My Little Diary...The Diary of Eva Heyman". The film is available in Romanian andin English. Our first screenings of the film took place in the autumn of 2017, shown to a group of students and to several groups of pupils. The link below will take you to the English version. It is available to the disposal of anyone who is interested to see the film for their personal learning, or in order to show it to pupils in school activities.
Also, we can personally attend such screenings in Oradea and in Bucharest. Should you wish us to do so, please get in touch.
English version:
11 September 2017
Our major project for 2017 has been to prepare materials for schools which covers the broad subject of people with disabilities. Firstly, we look at what happened to such people in the time of the Nazis and how propaganda was used to turn the general public against people with disabilities. Propaganda and "fake news" is still of concern in today's world and our lesson plan and resources show what can happen when propaganda succeeds.
The broad headings of our resource for teachers is set out as follows:
Disability, propaganda and the Nazi regime
Resource for teachers
KEY CONCEPTS addressed by this resource
OBJECTIVES of this resource
CONTENTS of this resource
Suggested Group Activity (Appendix A)
Disability, Propaganda and the Nazi Regime
Background reading which may be helpful (Appendix B)
Included with this material is a Powerpoint explaining the development of Nazi plans which led on to the mass murder of children with disabilities.
These materials can be found on our educational website for teachers.
Later this year we will be producing further teacher's material where we will be considering the problems facing people with disabilities in Romania today and how a greater understanding by public authorities could ameliorate their lives.
6 September 2017
We have scaled down our activities in the last few months as our project work has been reduced. This has been a result of illness and splitting our resources between Oradea and Bucharest.
Going forward we are concentrating upon creating new online materials relating to human rights for use within schools and telling the stories of families from Oradea whose lives were transformed by the Holocaust.
Finally we will be promoting our existing exhibitions and lesson plans that have been developed over the last 6 years.
It is gratifying when materials created by ourselves are used in schools some years after being developed. It is also pleasing when these materials inspire schools outside of Romania. One example has been the use of our lesson plans for Hedy and her Memory Book which were developed in 2013 and which inspired a school in the UK in 2016 as can be seen here.
3 May 2017
Our Family Albums section allows us to assist those families who wish to use our pages to celebrate lives that were lost in the Holocaust..
Our latest addition, The Sonnenfeld Sisters, traces this Oradea family from the middle of the 19th Century until the traumatic events of 1944. For the first time we are able to see letters sent by two sisters trapped in Oradea, days before they were forced into the ghetto. The two mothers knew that they were doomed and would never see their children again.
21 March 2017
On 21 March in 1960, 69 people were killed in Sharpeville, South Africa, during
a peaceful demonstration to protest against the apartheid system. Six years
later the United Nations designated the 21 March as the International Day
for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Some 51 years later it is clear that there is still a long way to travel before
such discrimination is eliminated.
27 January 2017
January 27 is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet
forces in 1945 and is marked in many countries as International Holocaust
Remembrance Day.
Events in countries associated with the International Holocaust Remembrance
Alliance can be found here.
Resources for teachers to use on this day in schools can be found on our
2 November 2016
We visited Scoala Gimnazială "Nicolae Bălcescu" to explore the concepts of identity
with some enthusiastic pupils using materials we had prepared for our project
funded by Joods Humanitair Fonds. More photos can be seen on our Facebook.
8 October 2016
We launched our Anne Frank - A History for Today exhibition in Baia Mare on 5 October
and it will remain in the public library until 21 October. Maia Teszler from Asociatia
Tikvah explained the background to the first group of students.
As ever we are grateful for the support of Claims Conference, Anne Frank House and
the Bernard Charitable Trust which has enabled us to reach thousands of students
over the last few years with the important messages of resisting prejudice and
discrimination.
28 September 2016
We will soon be on our way to Baia Mare with the Anne Frank - A History for Today
exhibition. The launch will be on 5 October and the exhibition will remain in the public
library until 21 October. More information will be available shortly on our Facebook.
23 September 2016
All citizens in Romania are entitled to take a case for breaches of certain human rights
to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The ECHR, which was brought into
existence in 1959, is much wider with its membership of 47 States, than just the EU.
Up to the end of 2015 the ECHR had delivered around 18,500 judgments. Nearly half of
the judgments have concerned 5 States. Turkey has been the subject of 3,182 of those
decisions, Italy 2,336, the Russian Federation 1,720, Romania 1,197 and Poland 1,099.
It is important for all citizens to be aware that the Court is there for them.
A useful summary of the most important decisions can be found on the Council of
27 August 2016
For the fourth year the Asociatia Tikvah created tennis competition was held over the
weekend in Oradea. We are proud that the Lenke Ziszovits Popper Memorial event
has now been adopted as a nationally recognized competition receiving the support
of the Romanian Tennis Federation. We are also grateful to our sponsors for their
continued help.
It is important that the rationale behind the adoption of a tournament in the memory
of Lenke (a multi-champion in Romania who perished in Auschwitz) is remembered.
This year Emilia Teszler addressed the parents of the young competitors before the
start of the event, so that they could explain to their children the name behind the event.
7 August 2016
At the invitation of ADEFRO (Association for the Development of Exchanges France
Romania) we took our exhibitions to Holod for a group of pupils from Bucharest who
were being hosted for their theatre project by the Greek-Catholic Church.
More detail is on our Facebook.
29 June 2016
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) does vitally important
work in collecting and analysing data in the EU. It assists EU institutions and
Member States in understanding and protecting the fundamental rights of everyone
in the EU.
At this particular time of multiple challenges caused by migration, increasing incidence
of intolerance and the possible destabilising effects of the UK withdrawal from the EU,
their role is even more important.
Asociatia Tikvah wants to ensure that their critical work is better known in Romania
and from this point on we will be drawing the attention of our readers to key aspects of
its work, through this website and through our activity on Facebook and Twitter.
We will also take key messages into our work with young people on the ground in
Romania.
The range of FRA activity can be appreciated by reading their recently published
Fundamental Rights Report 2016 and we encourage policy-makers and government
bodies to take note of and take action upon FRA Opinions.
1 June 2016
An important part of our work is taking our exhibitions to schools and to events
which are attended by young people. This work is jointly funded by Joods
Humanitair Fonds in the Netherlands and the Bernard Charitable Trust in the UK.
When we visit, we invariably explain the background of the Holocaust, as our
exhibitions can best be understood if they are put in the wider context of
antisemitism and the events leading up to World War II.
We also try to support the efforts of the Ministry of National Education, in
particular, the national annual Holocaust commemoration competition. Over
several years we have provided the prizes to students who have done well.
This year, under our project, we have visited 15 different locations with a variety of
exhibitions. The full sequence of visits can be seen on our Facebook.
28 May 2016
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released pictures of the IHRA event in Bucharest,
and in the first picture below can be seen Maia Teszler prior to giving her presentation
of Asociatia Tikvah's work. Three places to her left is Professor Yehuda Bauer who
earlier in the week was presented with the National Order of Merit by the President
of Romania. This award was given as a sign of appreciation for Professor Bauer's
long-standing efforts in the field of Holocaust research and education.
24 May 2016
Today in Bucharest, our project manager was a guest of the International
Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Romania has the Chairmanship for 2016-17
of this inter-governmental body and Asociatia Tikvah was asked to come to the
international meeting of participants from 40 countries to present our approach
to Holocaust education and remembrance and to show our work since inception.
For more information about the conference see the IHRA website.
21 May 2016
The "Anne Frank - A History for Today" travelling exhibition will be launched on
25 May in Salonta with the co-operation of the Mayor of Salonta, the Memorial
Museum and the Public Library. It will remain open for viewing until 10 June.
Further details are on the poster below.
25 April 2016
The "Anne Frank - A History for Today" travelling exhibition was launched today in
the most iconic of locations, Corvin Castle in Hunedoara.
Groups of students and teachers will be visiting the exhibition over the next two
weeks and will also be seeing the documentary film "The Short Life of Anne Frank".
19 April 2016
We continue to travel this month as part of our programme of school visits and
two more schools participated seeing our exhibitions on Eva Heyman and Shalom!
The detail is on our Facebook.
29 March 2016
Asociatia Tikvah is on the road again, this time visiting Reșița with the
Anne Frank - A History for Today exhibition. The launch is on 31 March
and will remain open until 22 April.
20 March 2016
Asociatia Tikvah continued with its programme of taking its exhibitions
to many, largely rural, schools by visiting the Colegiul Național "Octavian
Goga" in Marghita and the general school in Balc.
Photos of the two school visits can be seen on our Facebook.
18 March 2016
Asociatia Tikvah successfully launched the "Anne Frank - A History for Today"
exhibition on 9 March. The event was opened by Mr Marius Popa, Honorary
Consulof the Netherlands in Timișoara, with dr. Vasile Docea, Manager of the
"Eugen Todoran" Library, dr. Luciana Friedman, President of the Jewish
Community of Timișoara and Emilia Teszler, President of Asociatia Tikvah.
The event was also attended by the school inspector, prof. Petru Sandor and
a group of pupils and included the screening of the documentary film
"The Short Life of Anne Frank".
The exhibition is open to visitors until March 29.
Photos of the launch can be seen here and on our Facebook.
8 March 2016
Tomorrow Asociatia Tikvah will launch the "Anne Frank - A History for Today"
travelling exhibition (produced by Anne Frank House, Holland) at the
Biblioteca Centrală Universitară "Eugen Todoran" in Timisoara. The
exhibition will be open for visitors from March 9 to March 29. Please
find details on the event`s poster and on our Facebook.
29 February 2016
Asociatia Tikvah was very pleased to be invited to the Fundamental
Rights Agency (FRA) of the European Union in Vienna to partake in an
important workshop last week. The major topic was how could participants
of the Fundamental Rights Platform, of which Asociatia Tikvah is one,
help the FRA to promote human rights more effectively. In two days of
stimulating debate amongst representatives from throughout the EU
many good ideas were put forward.
We look forward to seeing these come to fruition over the coming months.
6 February 2016/25 February 2016
Asociatia Tikvah has been supported by Joods Humanitair Fonds
and the Bernard Charitable Trust to take its exhibitions to many
schools and other places where young people are present. We were
able to take two exhibitions to the events timed to coincide with
Holocaust commemoration.
The first five school presentations which have followed are now
able to be viewed on our Facebook pages.
3 February 2016
Zalau
One group photo below captures moments from the event
commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day,
which took place on January 31 in Zalau.
The Jewish Community in Zalau/Salaj and its President, Mr. Dan Haas,
organised the event in the presence of the President of the Federation
of Jewish Communities in Romania, Mr. Aurel Vainer.
The pictures below show Emilia Teszler lighting one of six candles
in memory of the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust,
including several members of her own family. She is also pictured
giving her presentation.
President Vainer is also shown lighting one of candles.
Asociatia Tikvah presented its itinerant exhibition "Eva Heyman 1931
Oradea-1944 Auschwitz" to students.
Şimleu
On February 1 we participated at the International Holocaust Conference
held in Simleu Silvaniei in the presence of the Mayor, Septimiu Turcas.
In the pictures below the Director of the Holocaust Museum, Mr.Daniel
Stejeran (and initiator of the event), is seen addressing the audience as is
Emilia Teszler from Asociatia Tikvah. Students attending the event were
also able to see Asociatia Tikvah's exhibition "Shalom! About Judaism
and Jewish life".
       
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30 January 2016
Asociatia Tikvah was invited to participate in the international conference
"The Holocaust and the Jewish legacy in Sălaj" organised by the Holocaust
Museum of Northern Transylvania in Simleu Silvaniei. The event will take
place at the City Hall of Simleu Silvaniei on February 1 and 2. As part of
the program we will present the itinerant exhibition "Shalom! On Judaism
and Jewish Life" produced by Asociatia Tikvah.
27 January 2016
Today, on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we remember those who
suffered and perished in the Holocaust, including the tens of thousands from Oradea
who were sent on forced labour or who were deported to that death camp.
We are, this year, participating in commemorations in a number of towns in
Northern Transylvania. We were invited to take our travelling exhibition on Eva
Heyman to Zalau where the Jewish Community of Zalau are holding a commemoration
event on Sunday 31 January. Since the original creation of this exhibition we have
added an additional panel on the Eva Heyman Memorial which we unveiled in
October in Balcescu Park, Oradea.
We will also attend the event as second and third generation members of a
family deported from Salaj (Simleu Silvaniei).
13 January 2016
We are sorry that we have not been posting News in the last couple of months. This
is because we have been hard at work completing an educational project funded by
Joods Humanitair Fonds and the Bernard Charitable Trust.
The project is entitled "Two minorities: two histories - on identity, diversity and
equality". We have produced for Romanian teachers lesson plans, background reading
materials, Powerpoints and related activities.
The materials prompt discussion about identity, stereotypes and discrimination. They
invite students to consider how these factors have impacted upon the histories of the
Roma and the Jews.
The materials are not only useful in the context of a History lesson, but also for Social
Science, Civic Education or cross-curricular, perhaps in literature or the arts.
With the International Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January approaching fast, these
materials could also be used as part of that commemoration.
The materials are also available in English.
Both sets of materials are to be found on our new website for teachers.
28 October 2015
It has been an extremely busy couple of weeks for Asociatia Tikvah, but an
extremely satisfying period.
We successfully unveiled the statue in the memory of the deported Jewish children.
This was preceded by a violin solo by Nicolae Levi from the Oradea Philharmonic.
We had previously brought together leaders of a cross-section of the communities
of Oradea, teachers and pupils, together with members of the general public for
an act of remembrance at the public library.
Sculptor Flor Kent holding the diary of Eva Heyman
More pictures of the library event and the unveiling can be seen on our Facebook.
Due to the generosity of an individual donor our project manager, Maia Teszler, was able
to attend a research and education conference of Holocaust and human rights experts in
Copenhagen. The keynote address was given by Szabolcs Takacs the Hungarian Chair of
the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
More pictures are on our Facebook.
This was followed by attendance at the launching of two books at the University
of Oradea more details of which are included on our Facebook. Pictured below is
Professor Antonio Faur from the University announcing the launch.
Finally we were pleased that a school from Biharia, inspired by the Eva Heyman
memorial, decided to visit Balcescu Park and to remember the deported children
and the events of May/June 1944. Below in the picture are pupils from "Gáspár
András" Gymnasium in Biharia, who were accompanied by their teacher, professor Mock
Iuliana.
Livia Cherecheș, a member of Asociatia Tikvah, met the group and gave a presentation. Children
laid out flowers, little stones (according to the Jewish tradition) and chestnuts.
More pictures are on our Facebook.
15 October 2015
Today we will unveil the statue in the memory of the Jewish children deported from
Oradea during the Holocaust in Northern Transylvania. It is sited in Balcescu Park
from where the trains left to Auschwitz.
More pictures of the event will appear here and on our Facebook over the course of the
next few days.
9 October 2015
On 9 October 1941 began the deportation of Jews from Bessarabia and Bukovina to
Transnistria under the regime of Ion Antonescu and these deportations continued in
1942 and included thousands of Roma. Many thousands of the deportees did not return.
The International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania published their report
over 10 years ago.
Yesterday the President of Romania, Mr Klaus Iohannis, stressed his commitment to
human rights and the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust.
29 September 2015
The launch of the Anne Frank exhibition in Bucharest was honoured to have speeches
given by Her Excellency, Stella Ronner Grubacic, Dutch Ambassador for the Netherlands
and the President of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania, Aurel Vainer.
To see pictures of the speakers and the event see our Facebook page.
21 September 2015
Today Asociatia Tikvah will launch the "Anne Frank - A History for Today"
travelling exhibition (produced by Anne Frank House, Holland) at the National
Library in Bucharest. The exhibition will be open for visitors September 21 to
October 23. Please find details on the event`s poster.
14 September 2015
Memorial to the lost generation of children – an update
The foundations have been laid and the stone plinth on which the statue
will sit has been put in place.
27 August 2015
Third year of the Lenke Ziszovits Popper Memorial Tennis Championship
11 August 2015
Memorial to the lost generation of children – an update
Asociatia Tikvah has now obtained all the authorisations and permits necessary
for the installation of the Memorial. The final local authorisation required
concerned the laying of the foundation. The specific departments of the Local
Council and of the City Hall of Oradea responsible for granting these permissions
were most helpful.
The architect, Emodi Tamas, will take responsibility for the development of the
foundation together with the relevant specialists.
The statue is cast and paid for. It is currently located in England and it will
be transported to Oradea by a company specialising in the transportation of
works of art on a date closer to the unveiling.
The plinth which will support the statue is also cut, paid for and ready to be
transported to Oradea. It will be delivered when the foundations are ready to
receive it.
As mentioned in our July update we believe that, thanks to our donors, we
have enough financial resources for future expenses, but if that proves not
to be the case, we will send out one final call for support, if appropriate.
We would like to thank all those who support us in this endeavour through
their voluntary efforts, through donations, through their efficiency and their
trust in us.
1 July 2015
Memorial to the lost generation of children – an update
Our latest appeal has been going for a month and we are pleased to announce that
we have received a further number of very generous donations which have enabled
us to reach our current target of $4,000.
We may need further funds a little later as we still have a number of hurdles to
jump before we are able to unveil the memorial, but it would not be right to ask
for further funds when we cannot be sure that they will be needed.
Donors to date are as follows:
Andrews, John, UK
Brodie, Cheryl and David,UK
Comunitatea Evreilor Mesianici, Oradea
Episcopia Greco-Catolica, Oradea
Episcopia Catolica, Oradea
Families Mozes, Terez and Gabor, Israel
Families Maurer, Friedman, Buchalter, Israel and USA
Families of children of Pajor Erno, France
Feine, Zvi, Israel
Geroe, Susan, USA
Hercz, Amos, Canada
Herskovits, Alfred, UK
Jewish Distribution Committee, USA
Klein, Idit, USA
Mozes, Alfred, USA
Stern, Peter and family, Oradea
Szenasi, Erika, Canada
Tavaszi, Hajnal, Oradea
Todd, Victoria, UK
We thank them all.
We will report on further progress monthly.
1 June 2015
Memorial to the lost generation of children – an appeal for funds
Dear Readers
This is the first time in the 5 years of our existence that we have explicitly
asked for your financial support.
Asociatia Tikvah is a non-profit organisation based in Oradea, which the Teszler
and Chereches families created in 2010 to promote remembrance of the Holocaust
and the importance of respecting human rights. Members of the families are the
second and third generation of a Holocaust survivor from the town of Simleu
Silvaniei.
Over the last three years the families, helped by other volunteers, have worked
on erecting a memorial for the Jewish children who were deported from Oradea
and who perished in the Holocaust. Oradea had most if its Jewish population
– almost a third of the city’s population – destroyed in the Holocaust, including
thousands of children and teenagers. We need your help to finish the project.
We are in the final stages of creating this memorial by the sculptor Flor Kent
from the United Kingdom. Dr. Kent is internationally recognized for her work
on “Kindertransport” statues of children which are on public display in Prague,
Vienna and London.
She has created a statue of a child based upon photos of the 13 year old diarist
from Oradea, Eva Heyman, who was deported to Auschwitz. The child is seated
on a plinth, with one hand on a book (her diary), but representing the entire
lost generation of Jewish children and youth deported from Oradea.
The memorial will be placed in Balcescu Park, (previously Rhedey Park) from
where the deportation trains left for Auschwitz.
While Flor Kent generously created the sculpture pro bono, we need to pay for
turning it into bronze; shipping and insurance fees to Oradea; acquisition of the
plinth and plaque; and all the work involved with the placement, unveiling and
possibly future maintenance.
We have obtained all the necessary papers and authorizations for the erection
of the plinth and statue and the unveiling (subject to funding) is scheduled for
late summer or early autumn 2015, before the authorizations expire. We are
grateful to architect Emodi Tamas for his pro bono work in connection with the
initial applications.
The plaque that will be produced, will explain the significance of the memorial
and (depending upon the extent of permissions we receive from authorities) it
will include general thanks to donors and others who helped to create it.
We have already collected a substantial sum towards the total cost and have
received significant donations (from the Joint Distribution Committee, Zvi Feine,
John Andrews, Episcopia Greco-Catolica Oradea, Episcopia Romano-Catolica
Oradea ,Comunitatea Evreilor Mesianici, Alfred Moses, Susan Geroe, Amos Hercz,
Albert Herskovits and Erika Szenasi).
But we now need a further and final $4,000 (reduced ,after a recent donation,
to $3,500). Can you help by a contribution?
Donations can be made through PayPal on the Help Us part of our website or
if you wish to make a money transfer through the bank in USD, EURO, or GBP,
we will provide guidance on how to do so if you use the Contact Us e-mail on
our website.
With many thanks from Asociatia Tikvah.
24 May 2015
Asociaţia Tikvah was invited to present at the International Symposium on "methods
of approaching and teaching about the Holocaust in Romanian schools" which took place
yesterday at the Northern Transylvania Holocaust Memorial Museum.
An inspirational and engaging presentation then followed given by Dr Chava Baruch
from Yad Vashem.
More pictures of the event and the programme can be found on our Facebook.
22 May 2015
The Anne Frank - A History for Today exhibition was launched today in Iasi as part
of an educational festival. Keynote presentations were given by Caroline Seebregts
from the Dutch Embassy and Emilia Teszler, President of Asociatia Tikvah.
It will remain available for viewing by schools and members of the public
until 12 June.
More information and pictures can be found on our Facebook.
5 May 2015
It was 70 years ago today that US troops stumbled upon the concentration camp at
Mauthausen in Austria. Many Jews from Oradea perished there.
As part of our Voices of the Liberators project we produced materials for schools in
Romania (and for English-speaking locations) and two of these Modules were about
Mauthausen and its sub-camp of Gunskirchen.
Module 5
Mauthausen
This powerpoint has been prepared for teachers and pupils to allow them to
understand the development of Mauthausen in annexed-Austria as a slave
labour camp for political opponents to a command centre of many sub-camps,
such as Gunskirchen.
The main focus is upon the testimonies of the ordinary liberating American
soldiers who provide an independent witness of the atrocities committed within
the camps.
Click on the image to see the powerpoint/pdf.
The short video extracts filmed by US cameramen below are designed
to be played at the appropriate part of the powerpoint/pdf.
Module 6
The Black Messiah
This pdf tells the story of the 761st Tank Regiment which was the first Black
(African-American) tank unit to be sent into a war zone at a time when there
was still significant race discrimination within the US military.
The 761st had a distinguished war record, including assisting in the liberation of
Gunskirchen, a sub-camp of Mauthausen. Their story is briefly told, including their
struggle for recognition after the end of the World War II.
The title of the Module comes from a poem written by a young Polish Jewess
liberated by a Black soldier at Mauthausen.
We are currently preparing a specific lesson plan to accompany this Module,
but it can already be used as a narrative to be discussed with pupils prompting
a debate about the nature of prejudice and discrimination and where it can lead.
Click on the image to see the pdf.
19 April 2015
We will shortly be leaving for Bistrita to put up the Anne Frank exhibition. The formal
launch will take place at Noon on Tuesday 21st April at the Bistrita Museum Complex.
15 April 2015
It was 70 years ago today that British troops liberated the concentration camp of
Bergen-Belsen. Still, 70 years on, it is hard to comprehend the callous indifference
for human life which confronted those troops. Amongst the survivors was Roza Mozes
who was the inspiration for the formation of Asociatia Tikvah.
On this day we will remember the liberators and the liberated in that appalling place.
The powerpoint below has been prepared for teachers and pupils to allow them to
understand the development of Bergen-Belsen from a prisoner-of-war
camp, to an exchange camp and finally to a typhus-ridden place of death.
The main focus is upon the testimonies of the ordinary liberating British soldiers
who provide an independent witness of the atrocities committed within the camp.
Click on the image below to see the powerpoint/pdf.
The short video extracts filmed by British cameramen below are designed
to be played at the appropriate part of the powerpoint/pdf.
25 March 2015
The "Anne Frank - A History for Today" travelling exhibition, produced by Anne
Frank House in Holland and presented in Romania by Asociatia Tikvah, was launched
on Tuesday, March 24, at the Beit Israel Synagogue in Brasov. The event was
opened by Mr. Matthijs Van Bonzel, Dutch Ambassador to Romania, accompanied
by his wife, Christine, Mr Tiberiu Roth, President of the Jewish Community in Brasov,
Emilia Teszler, President of Asociatia Tikvah. The event was also attended by
Mr Mihai Mohaci, Prefect of Brasov, a large number of locals, as well as several
groups of students and teachers from various schools in Brasov. The event included
an artistic performance by students from the "Andrei Şaguna" National College.
The exhibition can be visited until April 10.
We wish to thank the Jewish Community in Brasov and its President, Mr Tiberiu Roth,
for their support in the event organisation.
Asociatia Tikvah would like to thank the Netherlands Embassy in Bucharest for
financing the project of presenting the "Anne Frank - A History for Today" exhibition
in various cities in the country in 2015. Extensive photos of the occasion can be
found on our Facebook.
19 March 2015
European Union Education Ministers have vowed to increase education in
schools to "promote freedom of thought and expression, social inclusion and
respect for others, as well as to prevent and tackle discrimination in all its forms".
We strongly agree that this initiative has to start at the level of schools. We look
forward to further Ministry of Education support for these important topics.
The full Ministerial statement can be read here.
15 March 2015
The magnificent synagogue in Brasov is the next location for the exhibition
"Anne Frank - A History for Today". We are grateful to our partners, the Jewish
Community of Brasov, for making this available to us.
The exhibition will once again be opened by Matthijs van Bonzel the Dutch Ambassador to
Romania on 24 March. It will remain open for viewing between 24 March to 10 April.
Further details are on our Facebook page.
15 March 2015
On March 12, Asociatia Tikvah presented the educational resources created within our
"Voices of the Liberators" project to a group of pupils (6th-8th classes) at the Şcoala
Gimnazială nr. 1 in Husasău de Tinca co-ordinated by Mrs. Mihaela Flore.
(School Manager: Mrs. Georgeta Szabo).
The funding for this school visit came from the US Embassy. More pictures are on
our Facebook.
2 March 2015
Today, in a crowded "Biblioteca Judeteana ASTRA" in Sibiu the travelling exhibition
"Anne Frank - A History for Today" was launched by Matthijs van Bonzel the
Dutch Ambassador to Romania. Also in attendance was Judith Urban, the German
Consul in Sibiu.
Asociatia Tikvah is grateful to Silviu Bors, the Manager of the Library and his staff,
in particular, Anca Vasilescu, for making available their striking building and for all
their help.
23 February 2015
On March 2 Asociatia Tikvah will launch the "Anne Frank - A History for Today"
travelling exhibition (produced by Anne Frank House, Holland) at the ASTRA County
Library in Sibiu. The exhibition will be open for visitors March 2- 20. Please find
details on the event`s poster.
We are extremely grateful to the Netherlands Embassy for generously funding
our touring with the Anne Frank exhibition in 2015.
13/17 February 2015
Thanks to support received from the US Embassy in Bucharest, we have been able
to extend our project "Voices of the Liberators" and to visit a number of smaller
schools in Bihor County. The first of these was the Şcoala Generală in Căbeşti.
There we met an enthusiastic group of pupils and their history teacher Mrs Botez
Angelia Aurelia.
The second school visited was the Şcoala Gimnazială nr. 1 in Remetea coordinated
by Mrs. Földvári Monica, History and Geography teacher.
   
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More pictures are on our Facebook page.
30 January 2015
One of the striking features of our Remembrance event was the graphic design
exhibition put on by the pupils of the Liceul de Arte from Oradea. Inspirationally
led by Professors Maria David and Doina Tătar the designs were universally
praised by participants gathered at the City Hall.
With the consistently high standard of images created by the pupils it was
extremely difficult for the judging panel from Asociatia Tikvah to select three
prizewinners for the Asociatia Tikvah awards. The awards were kindly presented
by Adam Sambrook, the Deputy Ambassador of the British Embassy to
Horațiu Coman, Maria Avram and Cristina Târnovean.
We are grateful for photos from eBihoreanul and Bihorstiri.
29 January 2015
We need to thank a lot of individuals and organisations who helped us with our
Remembrance event on 27 January.
Speakers:
Sir Andrew Burns (by video) - Chair of IHRA
Dan Ben Eliezer (by statement) - Israeli Ambassador
Adam Sambrook - Deputy Ambassador for British Embassy
Alexey Babenko - First Secretary for Russian Federation Embassy
Claudiu Pop - Prefect
Virgil Bercea - Greek Catholic Bishop
Laszlo Bocskei - Roman Catholic Bishop
Andrei Seidler - Director Jewish Community Center
Codruţa Bogdan - Assistant Head of Schools Inspectorate
Doina Tătar - Department Head, Art School
Maia Teszler - Project manager, Asociatia Tikvah
Emilia Teszler - President, Asociatia Tikvah
We thank the Holocaust survivors who came to the event and the City Hall for allowing
us to use their magnificent assembly room and providing support on and before the day.
We were pleased that many representatives from diverse organisations came to the
event; delegates from the Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church and other faiths;
the Ministry of Culture; the Ministry of Work, Family and Social Protection; the Public
Library; Roma support (Ruhama); other civil society organisations; the County Council;
the University of Oradea; communities outside of Oradea; teachers and pupils; and
supporters of Asociatia Tikvah.
During and after the event the media were ever helpful; Duna TV, Digi TV, Transilvania
TV, radio Transilvania, radio Vocea Evangheliei and all the local Romanian and Hungarian
newspapers.
We were extremely impressed with the Art School exhibition of Holocaust posters and
tomorrow we will show much more coverage on our website, including the prize-
winners receiving their awards from Deputy Ambassador, Adam Sambrook.
Finally, we must thank our funders without whose support we would not be able to
pursue our mission: International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, Bernard Charitable
Trust and the Embassies of the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
28 January 2015
Remembrance event yesterday. More to follow.
27 January 2015
Today we remember.
22 January 2015
For some time we have been developing Holocaust remembrance resources which
can be used, primarily by teachers in conjunction with any activity that they may
be undertaking on 27 January.
Our theme has been “Voices of the Liberators”. We have researched the
development of the three Nazi camps at Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen and
Mauthausen and then taken the testimonies of the Soviet, British and American
liberators to provide independent witness of the horrors of the Holocaust.
The materials provide a background briefing for teachers as well as supplying
presentations for use in classrooms.
Although these materials have been created particularly for this current 27 January,
these resources can be used for any time of the year and in any year. The
messages are clear.
The base materials consist of a mixture of pdfs and powerpoints. We have
also provided relevant videos which we have created and sub-titled for Romanian
use. These are large files so we have kept them separate. These can be viewed
on our website or downloaded from our Vimeo pages.
The Romanian resources are here and the English versions here.
As always with our work, we welcome feedback.
20 January 2015
Asociatia Tikvah met with the Press from Oradea at City Hall to explain the plans
to remember the Holocaust on the International Holocaust Day of Remembrance
on 27 January. It will be 70 years since Soviet forces liberated Auschwitz.
Asociatia Tikvah is co-hosting a remembrance event with the British Embassy
in Romania. It is also expected that there will be Embassy representation at the
event from both Israel and the Russian Federation.
It is also expected that Asociatia Tikvah will show extracts from the new
documentary “Night will Fall” which tells the story of how British film-makers
Sydney Bernstein and Alfred Hitchcock planned to release a documentary of
the Nazi atrocities, but were prevented by politics from doing so – until now.
More details to follow later this week.
18 January 2015
Asociatia Tikvah participated in the Holocaust Generations Conference in London which
was excellently organised by the Second Generation Network, the Association of Jewish
Refugees and the Kindertransport Association.
This was followed by a reception at the German Embassy which Asociatia Tikvah was
honoured to attend. The German Ambassador, Peter Ammon, spoke movingly about the
post-war role of Germany.
Ambassador Ammon
(photos courtesy of the German Embassy)
9 January 2015
Yesterday, as part of our preparations for 27 January 2015 we held a teacher's
workshop in the Gheorghe Şincai" County Library for teachers around Bihor County
and many schools were represented. We are grateful to the local Ministry of National
Education for their support in organising this event.
We were able to show over 50 teachers a preview of the materials which will be
appearing on the Rembrance resources part of our website which will support them
in their classrooms as they draw attention to the Holocaust.
We wanted feedback so as to be able to make adjustments to meet their needs and
we are pleased to note that 90% of attendees thought our materials were either
good or excellent.
All these new resources will be loaded into our Remembrance resources page in
the next 10 days and we will post more News when this happens.
8 January 2015
Posters are now appearing around Oradea announcing our Remembrance event on 27
January 2015 which is being co-hosted with the British Embassy. Please note it in your
diaries and if you want a poster for your premises just ask us with an e-mail via our
Contact page.
7 January 2015
We were sad to learn that our specialist adviser on cemeteries, Kordics Imre, died
earlier this month. He was a particularly kind man and our thoughts are with his family
at this time.
He was passionate about recording the history, the architecture and the stories that
are to be found through a disciplined and knowledgeable analysis of ancient gravestones.
We were fortunate to have received the benefit of his expertise.
10 December 2014
28 November 2014
Our touring exhibition about Judaism and Jewish Life (Shalom!) continued to
more schools. Glimpses of the sessions in "Onisifor Ghibu" Theoretical High
School are below:
For more pictures go to our Facebook pages.
26 November 2014
Over the last two years Asociatia Tikvah has worked with the Holocaust Memorial
Day Trust (HMDT) in the UK on developing materials that could be used in schools
in the UK and in Romania. Last year Asociatia Tikvah told the true story of Hedy
and her Memory Book: a young girl from Oradea who survived Auschwitz.
This story was extremely popular in UK schools and several thousand teachers
have viewed it and many UK schools used it in their commemorative events.
We are pleased to report that the Hedy story is again being used in the UK for
events to come on 27 January 2015. We have added links on our own website
to the UK materials so that UK schools can see the memory books that were
created in schools from Oradea.
The UK materials are here.
21 November 2014
Our touring exhibition about Judaism and Jewish Life (Shalom!) has been extremely
busy in schools over the last month and hundreds of young people have had
presentations from Maia Teszler (or Emilia Teszler). Many others had the
opportunity to view the exhibition whilst it was left on display at a number of those
schools.
More photos of the events are on our Facebook.
13 October 2014
The "Anne Frank - A History for Today" travelling exhibition was launched today,
October 13, in partnership with the "Octavian Goga" County Library in Cluj-Napoca.
The event was opened by Mrs. Florica Moşoiu, Deputy Director, who gave a
welcome speech and showed a copy of the Diary of Anne Frank which is available
in their collection of books.
Groups of students and teachers attended who, after having watched the documentary
film "The Short Life of Anne Frank", visited the exhibition panels.
The exhibition can be visited over the next two weeks, and the documentary film
can be viewed by organised groups on Tuesdays at 13:00 and on Thursdays at 16:00
at the Arts Section of the Library.
We are grateful to the Library`s team for their kindness and support offered
around this event. We also thank Radio Cluj for the first picture below.
8 October 2014
We wil launch the "Anne Frank - A History for Today" travelling exhibition on
October 13 at the "Octavian Goga" County Library in Cluj-Napoca. The exhibition
will be open for visitors October 13 - October 27. Further details are contained on
the poster.
2 October 2014
On 1st October 2014, one week after the celebration of the Jewish New Year,
Asociaţia Tikvah launched its “Shalom! Despre iudaism şi viaţa evreiască”
(“Shalom! On Judaism and Jewish Life”) exhibition, at the State Philharmonic
Oradea and in collaboration with the said institution. Emilia Teszler spoke on
behalf of Asociatia Tikvah, explaining the information role of the exhibition and
underlining the fact that prejudice and stereotypes can be prevented by knowing
the other one and by accepting diversity in society.
His Excellency Rabbi Shraya Kav and his Excellency Mgr. Virgil Bercea, Bishop of Oradea,
conveyed a message of peace and mutual understanding.
The panels of the exhibition present essential moments in the history of Judaism,
the meaning of the main Jewish holidays, specific ritual objects, some of the main
Jewish rituals and traditions, as well as information on the main Jewish communities
that existed in Oradea prior to 1944. The exhibition will become itinerant and, based on
the partnership agreement concluded with the County School Inspectorate, will be
taken to various schools and other locations in Oradea and the county.
The event was ended by a recital performed by Hakeshet Klezmer Band.
Those present were then invited to taste apple cakes, a traditional dish served on the
main Jewish autumn holidays.
18 September 2014
Asociatia Tikvah is happy to invite you to the launching of its new exhibition, "Shalom!",
Wednesday, October 1, 17:00, at the State Philharmonic Oradea. The exhibition will
become itinerant and will be presented in various schools in Oradea and the county,
as well as in other venues.
17 September 2014
3 August 2014
Maia Teszler, our project manager from Asociatia Tikvah, was selected as a Workshop
Facilitator at the Roma Genocide Remembrance Initiative in Krakow where up to 1,000
young Roma and non-Roma gathered to mark the 70th Anniversary of the slaughter in
Auschwitz of close to 3,000 Roma.
Maia created and led the workshops on genocide and human rights at this event running
from 30 July to 3 August. This was organised by TernYpe, the International Roma Youth
Network.
It is important for everyone to have a sense of one's past history and it is particularly so
for minority communities. The history of the Roma has largely been ignored and the
genocide occurring during the Nazi period under-researched. We are pleased that the
Council of Europe has enabled Ellie Smith, the prominent human rights researcher, to
author an important educational handbook on the Roma Genocide for use in a variety
of educational settings.
Maia Teszler with one of her workshops.
7 July 2014
Our cemetery project which aims to provide a digital record of Oradea’s historic
Jewish cemeteries continues, but its pace is governed by our ability to raise funds.
Our approaches to major funders have, so far, been unsuccessful but we have
received individual donations and we have taken the decision to apply these to this
important task.
With limited funds we had to choose priorities and we chose to proceed, as fast as
we could, with a digital record of Oradea’s oldest cemetery – the Velenta.
It is important that the record is made in a disciplined way so that we create a plan
of the whole cemetery and as we record individual gravestones, place them within
that plan. We want subsequent generations to trace their ancestors and for scholars
to be able to appreciate the developments over time of architectural and social
developments that are reflected in the memorials.
Some of these memorials have to be cleared of vegetation in order to be photographed.
We continue to look for funding and for translation expertise. Can you help?
Some of the more recent photographs are shown as examples below:
6 July 2014
Pictures of the play and the winners in the the second Lenke Ziszovits Popper tennis
competition can be seen on our Facebook page.
23 June 2014
Not long now until the the second Lenke Ziszovits Popper tennis competition gets
under way. For reasons beyond our control the competition has been postponed for
one week until 5/6 July.
3 June 2014
The commemoration services in Şimleu Silvaniei and Oradea are covered pictorially on our
Facebook pages.
28 May 2014
Maia Teszler writes:
Tomorrow, May 29, we shall participate in the events dedicated to the commemoration of
70 years since the deportation of Jews from Northern Transylvania, organized at the
Northern Transylvania Holocaust Memorial Musem in Simleu Silvaniei. We shall attend as
members of Asociatia Tikvah (presenting one of our travelling exhibitions), as members of
the Jewish Community of Oradea, and as a family whose members were deported from
Simleu Silvaniei to Auschwitz 70 years ago. Asociatia Tikvah was founded in 2010 in
memory of Roza Chereches, born Mozes, mother of Emilia Teszler and Livia Chereches,
and my grandmother, who was deported to Auschwitz together with her family. She
survived deportation to the death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Death March
from Auschwitz and was liberated in April 1945 from the concentration camp of
Bergen-Belsen by the British troops. Most members of her family died during
deportation.
Roza died in Oradea in 1996.
Our hearts go out to all those who suffered and perished, to the survivors, to the
second and third generations, affected as well. We channel our thoughts towards
the future, with hope in Man and humanity.
19 May 2014
Later today our "Anne Frank - A History for Today" exhibition will be launched in the
Northern Transylvanian Holocaust Memorial Museum in Şimleu Silvaniei.
It will remain open for schools and public viewing until 28 May.
16 May 2014
Asociatia Tikvah has been represented by our Hon Member, John Andrews, at some of
the British Government events this week associated with the IHRA meeting in London.
He had the pleasure of meeting with Michael Shafir, Elisabeth Ungureanu, Felicia Waldman
and Mihai Chioveanu, who are the official representatives of Romania at this important
meeting.
John Andrews and Elisabeth Ungureanu at the dinner
hosted by the UK Government Minister Eric Pickles
12 May 2014
The theme of Asociatia Tikvah's last week has been Universities. At the beginning
of the week as part of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the deportation
of the Jews from Oradea, Emilia Teszler addressed students from the History Faculty
at the University of Oradea at the invitation of Professor Dr. Gabriel Moisa.
At the end of the week Emilia Teszler gave the keynote speech at the second Student
Symposium on Creativity, Imagination and Innovation at the Emanuel University of
Oradea. The subject was the diary of Eva Heyman.
6 May 2014
The "Anne Frank - A History for Today" travelling exhibition was launched yesterday
at the "I.S. Bădescu" County Library in Zalău.
Florica Pop, Manager of the County Library, Doina Cociş, Manager of the County
Directorate for Culture Sălaj, Dalia Mintaş, librarian, and Emilia Teszler, President of
Asociatia Tikvah addressed the audience. Maia Teszler read excerpts from Anne
Frank`s essay, "Give'. Then, the audience watched"The Short Life of Anne Frank"
documentary (subtitled in Romanian by Asociatia Tikvah) and visited the exhibition.
Dalia Mintaş and Cătălina Marincaş from the Library will be the lead guides for the
duration of the exhibition until 16 May, supported by young volunteers of the Library,
Denisa Ligia Matei, Eduard Matyas and Andrada Ştirb.
More pictures are on the Facebooks of TikvahOradea and the Zalau Library.
3 May 2014
It was 70 years ago today that the first Jews were transferred to the Oradea ghetto.
The inevitable consequences are detailed in 1944 in Oradea.
28 April 2014
We are pleased to report that the Anne Frank exhibition "Anne Frank - A History for
Today" will be opening on 5 May at the "I.S. Bădescu" County Library in Zalău. We are
extremely grateful to the Library and to Direcția Județeană pentru Cultură Sălaj for
collaborating with Asociatia Tikvah in this venture. The exhibition will remain for public
viewing until 16 May. See the poster below for more details.
24 April 2014
We have been very busy of late and have let our News items slip a little, but hopefully
this catch-up will let you know what we have been up to.
Professor Dan Stone
Earlier this month Emilia and Maia Teszler made the journey to the West University of
Timisoara to meet with Professor Dan Stone and his colleague Professor Florin Lobont.
Professor Stone is a visiting professor from the UK, where he is Professor of Modern
History at the Royal Holloway University and his research interests include the history
and interpretation of the Holocaust, comparative genocide and the history of
anthropology.
We exchanged educational experiences and had the opportunity of sitting in to hear
one of Dan Stone's lectures. We hope that he will assist Asociatia Tikvah on one of its
projects later this year.
Maia Teszler and Dan Stone
Florin Lobont with Emilia Teszler
Hedy and her Memory Book
We continued our schools programme of presentations and our travelling exhibition and
a further four schools were visited. Details and photographs are on our Facebook page.
Anne Frank exhibition in Oradea
The Anne Frank exhibition was open at the Gheorghe Şincai" County Library from 2 April
until 16 April. Asociatia Tikvah provided hosts and guides to show Anne Frank films and
answer questions. Many schools brought classes and it is estimated that many
hundreds saw the exhibition which now moves on to other locations. Further pictures are
available on our Facebook page.
Meeting with the Ruhama Foundation
The Ruhama Foundation was founded in 1996, in Oradea, with the express purpose of
fighting against the leading causes of stereotyping and discrimination affecting the Roma
minority, and creating the conditions for higher standards of living and a dignified existence.
Asociatia Tikvah is committed to promoting human rights amongst all people and warning
against the dangers of sterotyping and discrimination. So we had a very positive meeting
sharing plans and experiences and identifying areas of mutual interest.
Pictured above from the left is Alina Onchis, Executive Director of Ruhama, John Andrews,
Honorary Member of Asociatia Tikvah, Tina Daragiu, founder member of Ruhama and senior
consultant, Emilia Teszler, President of Asociatia Tikvah and Andreea Firastraeru, project co-
ordinator of Ruhama.
2 April 2014
There was standing room only at the "Gheorghe Şincai" County Library, Oradea
earlier today when the travelling exhibition "Anne Frank - A History for Today" was
launched by Matthijs van Bonzel the Dutch Ambassador to Romania.
The event was organised by Asociatia Tikvah and Emilia Teszler explained our
involvement with Anne Frank House in the Netherlands and thanked the
library for their co-operation in hosting the exhibition. The Director of the
library Ligia Mirişan (below) responded.
There followed a film of the Anne Frank story and Maia Teszler read extracts
from Anne Frank's essay Give!
The audience moved to the next floor to see the exhibition which will
be hosted by the Library for the next two weeks and will be visited by
school parties and the general public.
The three founders of Asociatia Tikvah pictured with the Dutch Ambassador.
Asociatia Tikvah is honoured to be working with Anne Frank House and is
grateful to Claims Conference and the Bernard Charitable Trust for their
financial support.
25 March 2014
The Hedy tour returned to Oradea with a further three schools visited.
21 March 2014
Earlier this year we announced our joint venture with Anne Frank House to bring the
story of Anne Frank to students in Transylvania. We are now pleased to announce
that the travelling exhibition "Anne Frank - A History for Today" will be launched at
the "Gheorghe Şincai" County Library, Oradea, on 2 April, at 11:00, in the presence
of the Dutch Ambassador to Romania.
The exhibition is aimed mainly at students between the ages of 11 to 18 and will
be available for viewing 09:00-18:00 on weekdays, between April 2 - April 16. Also,
for those who are interested, Asociaţia Tikvah will present "The short life of Anne Frank"
documentary (with Romanian subtitles) and will guide the visitors of the exhibition.
The international exhibition "Anne Frank – A History for Today" has travelled all over
the world, and is presented more than 300 times per year.
The formal invitation is below.
7 March 2014
We have continued to travel hundreds of kilometres to take our exhibition to schools
small and large, rural and in the city. We have received a very warm welcome from
pupils and teachers alike.
Scoala gimnaziala nr. 1 Ciumeghiu
Scoala gimnaziala nr. 1 Beznea
Liceul teoretic nr. 1 Bratca
                   
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Scoala gimnaziala " Nicolae Balcescu" Oradea
Liceul Ortodox " Episcop Roman Ciorogariu" Oradea
                 
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28 February 2014
We have started our touring of the story of Hedy from Oradea and her Memory Book to
many parts of our region through presentations linked to our mobile exhibition
(AMINTIRILE UNUI ALBUM). We have an ambitious programme of visits to schools
where an interest has been shown to learn more of local history and the importance
of human rights.
In the last 10 days presentations have been made by Asociatia Tikvah at the
following schools:
Colegiul National "Emanuil Gojdu" Oradea
Scoala gimnaziala "Nestor Porumb" Tulca
Scoala gimnaziala nr.1 Avram Iancu
Liceul teoretic "Constantin Serban" Alesd
Scoala gimnaziala nr. 1 Luncsoara
Colegiul Tehnic nr.1 Vadu Crisului
                       
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If your school would like a visit by the exhibition please contact us.
17 February 2014
Our commemoration activities for 27 January had at their heart the story of Hedy from
Oradea and her Memory Book. This story was covered in Romania, Australia, Canada and
particulary in the UK where hundreds of schools downloaded the materials for use in
class.
In the UK the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust also held a national Art Competition which
had the Holocaust as its theme.
One entrant, Hannah Martin entitled her work Hedy's Memories of the Holocaust,
having been inspired by Hedy's story. Hannah's entry was runner-up in the competition:
© Hannah Martin and HMDT
Hannah says ‘My artwork was inspired by the story of Hedy and her memory book.
I wanted to use an image of a girl as a central image and show a sad emotion in her
face, revealing how she felt whilst being a part of the Holocaust. For the writing I
used some of her own story in my own image. I used charcoal pencils to create my
work and I thought it was effective in creating a sombre mood, and reflect the
emotion in the story.’
13 February 2014
13 February 1944
"I've turned 13......"
It was the 13th birthday of Eva Heyman 70 years ago today. The first entry in her
published diary also appears on this date.
Eva is a symbol of the lost generation of Jewish children from Oradea (Nagyvarad)
and the surrounding villages who were forced into ghettos and then deported to
Auschwitz.
Reading her diary gives a good idea of the growing menace in the weeks before the
forced transfer to the ghetto and then the conditions that prevailed inside.
Read excerpts from her diary here.
6 February 2014
Asociatia Tikvah is pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership
arrangement with Anne Frank House from Amsterdam to do two things:
- To translate the Anne Frank travelling exhibition into Romanian
- To take the exhibition into public places and schools in Northern Transylvania
This partnership is financed by Anne Frank House through the provision of
the exhibition and financial support from Claims Conference.
More details will follow once our project plan is finalised.
3 February 2014
We were extremely grateful to our speakers at our Memorial Day event on
27 January and would like to thank them all formally.
Her Excellency Ambassador of Canada – Joanne Lemay
Secretary of State for Schools’ Education - Vasilica Ştefania Duminică
Prefect – regional representative of National Government - Claudiu Pop
President of the County Council - Cornel Popa
Vice-Mayor of Oradea - Mircea Mălan
Director of the Jewish Community Centre – Andrei Seidler
Director of the Ţării Crişurilor Museum – Aurel Chiriac
We also thank the leaders of faith communities, parliamentary representatives,
cultural organisations and many others for their attendance. An especial thank
you to the Holocaust survivors for turning out on an extremely cold night.
28 January 2014
The weather was cold but the reception was warm for the guests who came to
commemorate the Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January. The beautiful synagogue
was able to welcome an event for the first time in many decades.
We will have more details of the event over the next few days but especial thanks
to those who had made long journeys from Bucharest. In particular the Canadian
Ambassador and her team and the Secretary of State for School's Education.
27 January 2014
Today, on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we remember those who
suffered and perished in the Holocaust, including over 25,000 people who were deported
from Oradea to that death camp.
At 6pm we will keep their memory alive through an event in the Primariei Street
Synagogue which is being converted into a Museum of the History of the Jews in Oradea
and Bihor. All are welcome to come, to remember and to see the exhibition
AMINTIRILE UNUI ALBUM. Click on the image to see it yourself:
Also the Biblioteca Judeţene "Gheorghe Şincai" is marking the International Holocaust
Memorial Day by having a display of their resources concerning the Holocaust and
Asociatia Tikvah is pleased to show a small part of their impressive collection below:
24 January 2014
At the event of 27 January we are honoured to be showing a video from Dr Mario Silva,
the Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) which has been
prepared specifically for those attending the commemoration event in Oradea. IHRA is
supported by Governments of 31 countries of the world including Romania.
An essential part of Asociatia Tikvah’s activity is to create partnerships with schools
during which we examine together the influences which enabled the Holocaust to
take place. In our Memory Book project we have worked specifically with three
schools, clasei a XI-a D, Colegiul National ”Mihai Eminescu”, clasei a XI-a G,
Colegiul National ”Emanuil Gojdu” si clasei a VII-a B, Liceul Teoretic ”Ady Endre”.
Each of these schools have prepared their own Memory Books which will be sent
to Holocaust survivor from Oradea, Hedy Bohm, in Canada. These will show the
lives of young people in Oradea, some of the locations in Oradea that were familiar
to Hedy before her deportation to Auschwitz in 1944 and some of the beautiful
locations which can be found in Oradea today.
19 January 2014
Asociatia Tikvah's commemoration event will take place on 27 January and you
are invited to participate. Amongst the many honoured guests will be Her Excellency
the Canadian Ambassador to Romania and senior officials from the Ministry of
National Education. The formal invitation is below:
8 January 2014
Asociatia Tikvah has created an exhibition which will be launched on 27 January
which takes the story of Hedy Bohm (nee Klein) and her Memory Book as the
central theme. The story of Hedy is interesting in itself, but we wanted to research
the fate of Hedy’s classmates and see if we could trace what happened to those
who left messages in her Memory Book.
Doing this research 70 years after the event was a challenge.
It is a tragic story, but needs to be told, because it happened in Oradea to ordinary
people, to ordinary children and parents. Many of those that wrote in her Memory
book perished in Auschwitz; others survived the trauma and then eventually spoke
or wrote about their experiences.
This exhibition is illustrated on the downloadable pdf below (click the image). We would
encourage all schools (or other institutions) that want to use this material as
the basis for a lesson or a commemoration event on 27 January 2014 (the International
Day of Holocaust Remembrance) to contact us and we can supply the same materials
in the form of a Powerpoint presentation which may be more convenient for your use.
Use our Contact page to be in touch with us and request a copy.
The 27 January is the date that Soviet forces liberated Auschwitz.
All materials for use by schools (and other institutions) in the Romanian language
can be accessed from our Remembrance resources page.
29 December 2013
Holocaust awareness has become an integral part of the education systems of many
countries of the world. The study of the Holocaust assists students to understand
the nature of propaganda, prejudice, racism and stereotyping. It also explores the
dangers of remaining silent and indifferent when exposed to the oppression of others.
The liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January provides a focal day around which
countries can unite, having been designated by the United Nations as the
International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) is the designated
inter-government body responsible for promotion of the remembrance of the Holocaust.
Romania is a member of IHRA.
Holocaust remembrance is not a compulsory subject within the Romanian education
curriculum so teachers may need support if they are to tackle the issues created
by discussions of the Holocaust.
Asociatia Tikvah has been devising materials for the last two years which can be
used by teachers in Romania who wish their students to participate in commemoration
events on 27 January 2014 and subsequent years.
The background to the adoption of the 27 January is described on our Holocaust
remembrance section and the support for teachers on our Remembrance resources page.
We encourage schools to get in touch with us and download our free materials.
11 December 2013
The 10 December is the World Human Rights Day and Asociaţia Tikvah and the
"Onisifor Ghibu" Theoretical High School from Oradea marked the Day with an
impressive array of events.
These events were the finale of the project "Human Rights through the Prism of the
Holocaust".
The High School devised a novel way of spreading knowledge of the UN Human Rights
by individual pupils adopting a Right and then visiting class by class across the school so as
to disseminate the messages far and wide.
Asociatia Tikvah produced and talked to a Powerpoint describing the genocides that have
engulfed parts of the world since the end of the Second World War - Cambodia, Darfur,
Bosnia and Rwanda. We also spoke about the White Rose resistance movement that
developed in Munich in the 1940s where a number of students/lecturers tried to push back
against the Nazi regime with serious personal repercussions.
Professor Antonio Faur from the University of Oradea was a guest speaker covering
Holocaust history.
In order to see many more pictures of the Day please refer to our
28 November 2013
An integral part of our preparations for International Holocaust Remembrance Day
on 27 January 2014 has been working in partnership with the charity
Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) in the UK. HMDT is funded by the
UK Government and promotes and supports Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) in
the UK.
Much of the world marks Holocaust Memorial Day by remembering the millions
of people killed during the Holocaust under Nazi Persecution and in the subsequent
genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. On 27 January we all also honour
the survivors and challenge ourselves to use the lessons of their experiences to
inform our lives today.
HMDT encourages and inspires individuals, organisations and communities across
the UK to play their part in learning lessons from the past to create a safer, better
future. Asociatia Tikvah tries to do the same in Romania.
Asociatia Tikvah has been managing a multiple relationship between HMDT, Hedy
Bohm (formerly Klein), a Holocaust survivor from Oradea, who now lives in Canada
and who is often invited by our partners in Canada - Scott Masters and Crestwood
Preparatory College in Toronto - to tell her story. We are all using the story of Hedy
and her Memory Book to illustrate the theme of “Journeys” adopted by HMDT as their
campaign theme for 27 January 2014.
Asociatia Tikvah, has now been corresponding with Hedy over many months researching
Hedy’s life as a Jewish child growing up in Oradea; what she enjoyed doing; which
synagogue she attended; where she went to school and who were her classmates.
Armed with this information Asociatia Tikvah researched the fate of her classmates
following the deportations in May/June 1944 and traced some that also survived and
gathered their stories as well. These stories are illustrative of the devastation wrought
on thousands of Jewish families in Oradea.
Based on our research, the story of Hedy and her Memory Book (a book of memories
which survived Hedy’s deportation) has been turned by our UK/Romanian partnership
into a Life Story and Lesson Plans for use by schools throughout the UK. Thousands
of young people in the UK will be studying the history of Oradea, a city gravely
affected by the Holocaust, and becoming familiar with its location.
Asociatia Tikvah would like to see a similar approach adopted by educators in
Romania as those adopted in the UK and Canada where Government help has
encouraged teachers to explain the implications of the Holocaust and subsequent
genocides and organisations, such as HMDT, have provided teacher
resources.
Asociatia Tikvah is now working towards providing resources for teachers in Northern
Transylvania based on the story of Hedy and her Memory Book. We will be doing a
range of things:
- providing ideas for how schools and other institutions might promote the
International Remembrance Day of 27 January.
- encouraging our political and educational leaders to support these
initiatives as Romania is a signatory to the Stockholm Agreement, the United
Nations Resolution adopting the 27 January and is a member of the
inter-governmental remembrance body (IHRA) .
-providing links to general Holocaust and subsequent genocide materials on
our website.
-supplying Romanian versions of the joint materials produced with HMDT
for download and these will be available in December.
-developing a Romanian-only version of the Hedy story, which adds more
local information to the HMDT version and this will also form the basis for a
travelling exhibition which will be launched on 27 January 2014. This will be
available to download at the beginning of January.
-providing as much support as we can to teachers and anyone who wants
to remember the Holocaust on 27 January.
We encourage schools and other bodies who would like to commemorate the
Holocaust on 27 January 2014 to get in touch with us as soon as possible.
22 November 2013
Asociatia Tikvah was invited as an observer by the Association of European Jewish
Museums to its annual conference in Munich, Germany and Hohenems, Austria, from
the 16th to 20th November. The purpose of attending was to gather information
and contacts that could benefit the Muzeul Tarii Crisurilor for the development of the
Museum of the History of the Jews in Oradea and Bihor.
The conference was spread over two venues, the Jewish Museum Munich and the
Jewish Museum Hohenems, two wonderfully equipped and managed museums with
contrasting histories.
Munich and Hohenems
Hohenems and Munich
Representatives from 25 countries participated and offers of expertise and
assistance for the Oradea project were received from a number of European museums.
Asociatia Tikvah was represented at the meeting by our Honorary Member from the UK.
21 November 2013
A further three High Schools have seen the "Lights in the Night" exhibition one in Oradea,
one in Luncşoara and Vadu Crisului. We are always pleased to be invited to take our
exhibitions outside the immediate area of Oradea.
The schools concerned were "Iuliu Maniu" Greek-Catholic High School (Florentina Barta -
coordinating teacher), Şcoala Gimnazială nr. 1 Luncşoara (Mr. Botici Matei Adrian -
headmaster, teacher and Silaghi Antonia - teacher), Technical College no. 1 Vadu Crisului
(Mălai Florin - headmaster, Mălai Maria - teacher).
Photos of the events can be seen on our Facebook page.
9 November 2013
We are pleased to announce the launching of our new Facebook page. Please visit the
page and do Share, Like or Comment.
The addition for today covers the 75th Anniversary of Kristallnacht: The end of the
beginning and the beginning of the end.
8 November 2013
Two further High Schools have seen the "Lights in the Night" exhibition and have given
us valuable feedback. "Ady Endre" High School hosted the exhibition for a few days. Whilst
there a class of students from "Iosif Vulcan" visited in order to see it.
Photos of the events can be seen on our Facebook page.
3 November 2013
Since the launch of our “Lights in the Night” exhibition at the Public Library it has been
on tour, with a combination of schools coming to Colegiul National “Mihai Eminescu”
to view or it being taken to other schools. Schools had presentations about the
content from Asociatia Tikvah.
The schools participating so far in addition to “Mihai Eminescu” have included Liceul
Reformat “Lorantffy Zsuzsanna”, Colegiul Economic “Partenie Cosma”, Liceul
Ortodox “Episcop Roman Ciorogariu”, Colegiul National “Emanuil Gojdu”, Liceul De Arte
Oradea, Liceul Teoretic “Nicolae Jiga” (in Tinca).
A selection of pictures from these various events is displayed below.
19 October 2013
Another busy two weeks for Asociatia Tikvah as it progresses its numerous projects.
Scott Masters
One of our two partners in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) project, Scott Masters, received a prestigious Award on October 9th. Scott is a
teacher at Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto and he won the Award for
Excellence in Holocaust Education for his innovative approach to promoting
understanding and awareness amongst students of the Holocaust as well as its
implications.
The Award was presented by Jason Kenney, Canadian Minister for Multiculturalism, at
a special event to honour Holocaust survivor educators held in conjunction with the
bi-annual meeting of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
“Mr. Masters has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to Holocaust education,” said Minister Kenney. “He has developed innovative and meaningful teaching practices and has been successful in instilling an interest in the aftermath of the Holocaust in his students. I am happy to announce that he is the recipient of this important award.”
Asociatia Tikvah also adds its congratulations to Scott and looks forward to our joint
working with him over the next year.
October 9 Remembrance at Ghibu High School
As part of our project Human Rights through the Prism of the Holocaust, Emilia and
Maia Teszler participated in an event to remember the Holocaust in Romania day.
Pupils produced a presentation both on the developments of the Holocaust generally
and on the events within Romania, as it is today.
Asociatia Tikvah also presented prizes to those students who had provided significant
contributions to Holocaust remembrance during the project.
IHRA project for 27 January 2014
Some important steps have been taken to progress our project which is geared to the
International Holocaust Remembrance Day of 27 January. Three High Schools in
Oradea will play a leading part in our future plans, Colegiul National “Mihai Eminescu”,
Colegiul National “Emanuil Gojdu” and Liceul Theoretic “Ady Endre”. We look forward to
working with both teachers and students.
October 6 2013
It has been an extremely busy 10 days for Asociatia Tikvah and we have made good
progress on a number of our projects.
Lights in the night
The new exhibition on rescuers in the Holocaust “Lights in the Night” was successfully
launched on 4 October in the presence of His Excellency Michael Sternberg,
the Danish Ambassador to Romania (pictured below).
The exhibition covers the heroic actions of the Danish people in saving most of its Jewish
population 70 years ago; the Kindertransport to the UK; the saving of many thousands
of Jews by Romanian diplomats; and the unselfish acts of many from Oradea.
The President of Asociatia Tikvah, Emilia Teszler, thanked the Biblioteca Judeţene
"Gheorghe Şincai" for hosting the exhibition and introduced the guests. She went on
to explain the reasons for recognising the brave actions of many people and
emphasised the importance for young people today of thinking for oneself and
recognising that we all have a responsibility for ensuring that prejudice and
discrimination is not allowed to flourish.
Eminent guests who spoke in addition to the Ambassador, included Vice-Mayor Mircea
Malan, Aurel Chiriac, Director of Muzeul Tarii Crisurilor and Andrei Seidler, Director of the
Jewish Community Centre.
Other invited guests included Florica Chereches, national Member of Parliament seen
below talking with the Ambassador.
Lucian Silaghi, Director of Directia Judeteana pentru Cultura Bihor viewing the exhibition
with Emilia Teszler.
Felix Koppelmann, the President of the Jewish Community in Oradea is seen here with
the Ambassador.
Asociatia Tikvah was also able to distribute a message of support from Ann and Bob Kirk
who were two of the Kindertransport rescued from Germany and transported to the UK.
Thanks are due to Daniel Grunfeld for providing the photographs above. Further
photographs and event coverage can be accessed at the newspaper websites of
Crisana and Bihoreanul.
Special thanks are also due to Elena Cristina Marian, from Colegiul National "Mihai
Eminescu" and Fazakas Gabor, from "Ady Endre" High School for their help in agreeing
to assist in taking the exhibition to thousands of young people once it has finished its
time in the current location.
Finally we could not have succeeded in this venture without the financial support of
Joods Humanitair Fonds and the Bernard Charitable Trust.
Jewish Life and Anti-Semitism
On 1st and 2nd October Asociatia Tikvah attended a major Conference as a guest of the
Tom Lantos Institute of Budapest, to discuss Jewish Life and Anti-Semitism. This was a
high profile event expertly organised by our hosts and featuring Government Ministers
from Hungary, Israel and Greece.
There was a powerful denunciation of any discrimination in his country from the
Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics (pictured below).
There were also thought-provoking presentations from many speakers including the
current and future Chairs of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA),
Dr Mario Silva from Canada and Sir Andrew Burns (below) from the UK.
Representatives from 50 countries were in attendance and this enabled Asociatia Tikvah
to discuss our work with diplomats, parliamentarians and civil society organisations
from a number of countries.
Human Rights through the Prism of the Holocaust
On 27 September as part of our Human Rights project in partnership with the Onisifor
Ghibu High School we showed the award-winning film “David” which tells the story of
Daud, an 11 year-old religious Muslim boy, growing up in Brooklyn, New York.
Concealing his Muslim identity, Daud inadvertently befriends a group of Jewish boys
who, through a series of mistakes, think he is Jewish and accept him as one of their
own.
Asociatia Tikvah had added Romanian sub-titles to the film for younger pupils and after
the showing of the film there were lively debates on the nature and extent of prejudice.
As one pupil put on his blog “The atmosphere was hot, many people came up with all
sorts of diverse arguments and as ever it showed not everyone agrees with everyone
else”.
Assembling for the debate
September 26 2013
The new exhibition on rescuers in the Holocaust (Lights in the Night) will be
launched on 4 October in the presence of His Excellency Michael Sternberg,
the Danish Ambassador to Romania. The exhibition covers the heroic actions
of the Danish people in saving most of its Jewish population 70 years ago; the
Kindertransport to the UK; the saving of many thousands of Jews by Romanian
diplomats; and the unselfish acts of many from Oradea.
September 16 2013
Our project to build awareness of and participation in Holocaust commemoration
in Northern Transylvania has started with co-operative working with the
Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) in the United Kingdom.
This international co-operation is an essential part of our project as we take the
story of a young girl from Oradea (Hedy Klein, now Hedy Bohm) and her memory book
and trace the journey of both Hedy and her book in the turbulent years of the mid-
1940s.
This Holocaust story will form the background of materials for teachers in three
countries to use as lesson plans in preparation for the International Holocaust
Memorial Day on 27 January 2014.
For the last few months Asociatia Tikvah has been researching in depth not only
Hedy’s personal story, but those of her classmates and teachers at her Oradea
school. We have taken our knowledge of Oradea and Hedy’s story to the UK. There
we have worked collaboratively with HMDT to assist them in producing their versions
of Hedy’s journey for both schools and other institutions.
Hedy’s story, together with others, was launched at the UK Houses of Parliament last
week in London. Pictured below is John Andrews OBE, honorary member of Asociatia
Tikvah together with Olivia Marks-Woldman, the Chief Executive of HMDT, the film-maker
Berge Kanikanian and Jewish survivors of Nazi persecution.
John Andrews (back left) holding Hedy’s story at the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust launch
September 8 2013
Asociatia Tikvah is very pleased to be able to start a new initiative to increase
awareness of and participation in Holocaust commemoration in Northern Transylvania.
This initiative will focus upon activity on International Holocaust Memorial Day (fixed
as 27 January, being the date that the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp was liberated
in 1945).
We are excited to be working in an international partnership with the Holocaust
Memorial Day Trust in the UK and Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Canada.
We are also very privileged to be associated with Hedy Bohm (formerly Hedwig Klein)
who grew up in Oradea, but was taken from the Oradea ghetto to Auschwitz in 1944.
Hedy, having survived Auschwitz and slave labour, now lives in Toronto and is very
active in taking messages against discrimination and prejudice into Canadian schools.
Our joint venture across three countries will be telling the story of Hedy and her
preserved “memory book”. We hope to reach many thousands of young people
across three countries and to encourage them to learn from events of the past.
Our project will involve visual displays, web materials, travelling exhibitions, talks and
lesson plans for schools in Romania, the UK and Canada. All these activities will be
directed at not only 27 January 2014, but to encourage and inspire schools and
other institutions to remember on future 27ths of January the pernicious effects of
prejudice, discrimination and hate, wherever they occur in the world.
Asociatia Tikvah has an oversight role for the partnership and will direct all activity in
Oradea and in other parts of Northern Transylvania over the next few months, during
which time we will be co-operating with many schools and other institutions. We look
forward to working with anyone who shares our objectives. Do contact us if you
would like to help.
We are grateful to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance for our primary
funding, with additional support from the Bernard Charitable Trust and the Canadian
Embassy in Bucharest.
July 25 2013
Asociatia Tikvah is working on a new travelling exhibition for schools for the Autumn
of 2013. This exhibition will focus upon Rescuers during the Holocaust. In our work in
schools in 2012 we had many questions from pupils asking why the ghetto and
deportations from Oradea (then Nagyvarad) were allowed to take place and why no-
one tried to stop it.
In fact, there were examples of help from the non-Jewish population, both Romanian
and Hungarian, but these positive examples have been largely hidden to date or not
made public enough.
We think it is important to show that there were people other than colluders and
bystanders who demonstrated human rights values as we understand them today
and which young people, with their diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds can
identify with.
The project is kindly supported financially by The Dutch Jewish Humanitarian Fund .
July 17 2013
Asociatia Tikvah wants to learn from the most eminent historians in our region and
we have been very fortunate to meet with Ladislau Gyémánt. He has very kindly
agreed to offer us the benefit of his experience as we attempt to document the
history of the Jews in Oradea.
Ladislau Gyémánt was born in Oradea. From 1970 he has been a senior fellow
researcher at the Institute of History of the Romanian Academy in Cluj; and from
1990 Director of the "Dr. Moshe Carmilly" Institute for Hebrew and Jewish History
at the "Babes-Bolyai" University in Cluj.
He also served as Deputy Dean and then Dean of the Faculty of European Studies at
the same university in the period 1997-2011. Specialising in Central-European history
of the 18th and 19th centuries, he is the author of 30 books and
130 studies, with works on the history of Transylvania; history of the Jews in
Romania and Jewish Genealogy. In addition, he is editor of the annual review Studia
Judaica, I-XIX, Cluj-Napoca, 1991-2011;and editor of the book series Bibliotheca
Judaica, I-VII, 1994-2000. Finally, he is correspondent for Romania of AVOTAYNU.
July 12 2013
Asociatia Tikvah was pleased to receive an invitation to the Public History
of the Holocaust event in Berlin and on July 9 our representative, John Andrews,
reported a high attendance by all the influential figures involved in the online
documentation of the Holocaust. Sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education
and Research, it was hosted in the impressive Jewish Museum.
The programme was given a very positive start by hearing from Johanna Wanka,
The German Federal Minister for Education and Research who promised continued
investment in this important initiative.
There were interesting perspectives and insights from Georgi Verbeeck, Professor
of German History at the University of Leuven, Belgium; and enthusiastic progress
reports from Dina Porat, Chief Historian of Yad Vashem (pictured below); Sara Bloomfield
Director of USHMM in Washington; Rebecca Boehling, Director of the
International Tracing Service at Bad Arolsen; and Angelika Menne-Haritz
from the German Federal Archives.
Asociatia Tikvah is very interested in the preservation, online display and story-telling
involved in testimonies and artefacts derived from Oradea and the wider Bihor. We are keen
that local initiatives are encouraged and promoted, as time is not on our side to find,
collate and preserve those records which others will wish, in time, to put into their
databases.
July 5 2013
On the 28 June, Asociatia Tikvah participated in an event held in the memory of
Mihai Marina ,the former consul of Romania in Oradea. He held that position between
1941 to 1944 when the city was under Hungarian administration.
The organisers of the event were Asociatia Morarita, president Tiberiu Moraru, and
Uniunea Regionala a Romanilor din Transcarpatia “Dacia” Ucraina, president dr. Ion M.
Botos.
Other guests included Corneliu Popa, the President of the Bihor County Council,
Professor Aurel Chiriac, Director of Muzeul Tarii Crisurilor Oradea and Lucian Silaghi,
Director of Directia Judeteana pentru Cultura Bihor.
Emilia Teszler laid a wreath of flowers and said a few words about the help Marina
gave to a number of Jewish people in Oradea, in 1944, facilitating their escape
across the border, to Romania.
A religious service followed and afterwards the assembly visited the former
consulate, today the Museum “Aurel Lazar”, to see a mini exhibition on Mihai Marina.
June 24 2013
As part of the programme "Human Rights through the Prism of the Holocaust" a party
of pupils from the Onisifor Ghibu High School embarked upon the long journey to visit
the museum which once was the home of the Jewish Nobel Prize-winner Elie Wiesel in
Sighet.
The tour was also to take in the grim Sighet prison, which is also a Memorial Museum
to the memory of the political prisoners of the communist regime who were
incarcerated there.
The trip was organised and funded by Asociatia Tikvah and Emilia Teszler spoke
about what they could expect to see as the trip began.
The first stop was the Elie Wiesel House in Sighet:
It was good to see that the book "Evreii din Oradea" of Asociatia Tikvah's Honorary
Member, Tereza Mozes, was thought to be essential reading in this home of a literary
giant.
The tour continued to the Sighet Prison which is part of the Memorial of the Victims
of Communism.
A history teacher was always on hand to offer guidance.
The pupils learned much about two very significant periods of history in
Transylvania which demonstrated that the loss of human rights can occur under
regimes of very different ideologies. They will be able to take back these lessons
and apply them in the rest of the project "Human Rights through the Prism of the
Holocaust"
June 4 2013
The new tennis cup competition in the name of Lenke Ziszovits Popper founded by
Asociatia Tikvah got under way on 1 June and concluded on 4 June (because of the
wet weather). Spectators were pleased with the high standard of tennis coupled
with the enthusiasm and sportsmanship of competitors.
Lenke was the women's tennis champion of Romania on four separate occasions, the
last of which was in 1938. She was based in Oradea, but, as a Jew, was deported to
Auschwitz in 1944.
We were particularly pleased that a member of the Popper family, Peter, was able
to attend the prize-giving. Lenke would have been Peter's aunt had she lived.
The prizewinners received their awards form Emilia Teszler of Asociatia Tikvah who
gave many thanks to prof. dr. Stefan Maroti who has given enormous assistance to
this venture. Also thanks were given to Bogdan Sturzu who co-ordinated the
competition (and also was the Runner-Up in the Men's competition) and the tournament
doctor (dr.Angela Bucur).
Pictured above are Stefan Maroti, Radu Seres (a participant), Emilia Teszler,
Bogdan Sturzu (Runner-Up), Peter Popper, Andrei Daraban (Champion) and
Ionut Urda (Joint third). Not pictured is Ciprian Brudasca (Joint third).
Pictured nearest the camera is Nicole David (Runner-Up) and just about to serve
is the Women's Champion Klara Kosa. Joint third were Ana Maria Cioara and
Monika Horvath.
We will be looking to increase substantially the participants next year and we hope
that the University of Oradea will again kindly lend us their courts.
May 28 2013
Asociatia Tikvah continued its series of presentations and lesson plans at
Onisifor Ghibu High School under its programme theme of “Human Rights through
the Prism of the Holocaust”. The theme of the third month was Human Rights
and Communism.
The presentation from Asociatia Tikvah was well received by pupils and was supplemented
by presentations looking back at the school in the communist regime.
May 24 2013
Asociatia Tikvah was pleased to donate and award the prizes at the ceremony
for the Bihor County winners of the Holocaust Memorial competition.
The competition was organised by the Inspecoratul Scolar Judetean Bihor under the very
professional guidance of prof.dr. Rosu Lizeta. The winners were as set out in the table below.
| Position | Name | School | Teacher |
| Junior | |||
|
First
|
Teodora Bodog |
Şcoala Gimnaziala„Oltea Doamna |
Eva Laza |
|
Second
|
Alexandra Damsa |
Liceul Ortodox "EP. Roman Ciorogariu" |
Florin Oros |
|
Third
|
Traian Prisecaru |
Liceul Teoretic "Nicolae Jiga" |
Ionel Pop |
| Senior | |||
|
First
|
Brigitta Bere | Liceul Greco Catolic "Iuliu Maniu" | Mihaela Olau |
|
Second
|
Denisa Sabau | Colegiul National "Mihai Eminescu" | Cristina Marian |
|
Third
|
Diana Bar | Colegiul National "Mihai Eminescu" | Cristina Marian |
May 15 2013
Asociatia Tikvah is very pleased to announce a new tennis cup competition in Oradea
on 1 and 2 June 2013. We have started this competition to bring to the attention of
the public the name of Lenke Ziszovits Popper, one of the greatest sporting
achievers from Oradea in the 1930s.
Lenke was the women's tennis champion of Romania on four separate occasions, the
last of which was in 1938. She also won many national doubles championships and
helped Romania to win the Balkan Tennis Championships. King Carol II gave her a
special sporting merit award.
Lenke was Jewish and as there were increasing restrictions upon Jews playing a part
in public life she was not able to continue her tennis career with the approach of the
Second World War.
In 1944 she was deported to Auschwitz from Oradea (then part of Hungary) together
with her young daughter, where they both perished.
We are very grateful to all those who have helped us in organising the contest: the
University of Oradea, trainers and doctors who have given freely of their time.
Special thanks go to prof. dr. Stefan Maroti, for his help both in organising and
supplying historical information. Finally, the whole event could not take place without
the financial support of the Bernard Charitable Trust from the UK.
May 6 2013
We will be developing our own materials on Human Rights in conjunction with schools
in Oradea thanks to a generous anonymous donor from the USA.
Our first project of this sort is Human Rights through the Prism of the Holocaust. It is
being developed in conjunction with Onisifor Ghibu High School and with the approval
of the regional Education Authorities. It is co-ordinated in the school by social
sciences teacher Lilla Sandor, and together with Emilia Teszler from Asociatia
Tikvah, they have formed an enthusiastic team.
More information is available on the Teaching in Schools part of our website.
April 3 2013
Asociatia Tikvah has been invited to join the prestigious Fundamental Rights Platform
by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. We become one of over 300
civil society organisations working co-operatively on numerous fundamental rights
issues across the EU.
As FRP partners we will take part as stakeholders in discussing issues of mutual
concern, exchanging information, making suggestions for the Agency's Work
Programme and electing an Advisory Panel.
March 27 2013
Asociatia Tikvah is very pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership
with the Onisifor Ghibu High School to develop materials for a year’s tutorial with the
theme “Human Rights through the Prism of the Holocaust”.
This initiative of the partnership has been approved by local representatives of the Ministry
of Education and is funded by the kind generosity of an anonymous donor from the
United States.
There will be a series of lesson plans produced, together with suggested ways that
teachers might approach the subjects involved. It is hoped that early in 2014 we will
publish these materials and promote them widely across the schools of Romania.
March 3 2013
We have two new entries in our Family Album section. The Steier and Steiner families
have contributed their testimonies and the reader will learn more of the past Jewish
life in Oradea. Follow the link to read about the people, their histories and their fate.
January 27 2013
Asociatia Tikvah was proud to organise the first International Holocaust Memorial Day
to be held in Oradea's Jewish Community Centre to remember and honour those who
suffered and died in the Holocaust.
The Centre hosted the event and we are grateful to them and the Bernard Charitable
Trust which provided funding for the preparation.
Emilia Teszler from Asociatia Tikvah presented a history of the events of 1944 in
Oradea, including some new artefacts and videos which had never been seen in Oradea
before.
We owe many thanks to the Strochlitz Institute for Holocaust Research of Haifa
University for their close collaboration, excellent support and their permissions to use
archive materials. We would like to thank particularly the archive Director, Yolanda
Gilad. Some of the detail in the presentation will appear on our website in due course.
The whole event was filmed in front of a crowded Community Centre and Emilia Teszler
was interviewed for local television news. Representatives of faith and ethnic groups
mixed with survivors of the Holocaust, representatives of local government and
academia.
At the end of event, Maia Teszler of Asociatia Tikvah presented prizes and white roses
to two schools who had run competitions to commemorate the Holocaust.
The award to the Colegiul Mihai Eminescu was made to Prof Cristina Marian and her
students, George Ilisie, Denik Jurcsik and Alin Matei.
The award to the Liceul Ady Endre was made to Prof Fazakas Gabor and his team of
Jakabffy Balazs, Szakacs David and Kozma Tamas.
A selection of further photographs from the event follows:
We hope that this event will become a regular feature in Oradea and that in
2014, which is the 70th anniversary of the deportations to Auschwitz from Northern
Transylvania, there will be a much greater involvement across Romania.
January 11 2013
The 27thJanuary commemorates the victims of the Holocaust; the date being the day
that Auschwitz was liberated.
Asociatia Tikvah is organising an event kindly hosted by the Jewish Community Centre
in Oradea commencing at 11 o’clock.
We will:
1. Be explaining some of our recent initiatives and activities relating to the
Holocaust.
2. Show video and other memories from Holocaust survivors of Oradea.
3. Reveal for the first time some new historical documentation concerning the Jews
of Oradea in 1944/45 uncovered by our research.
4. Be presenting Asociatia Tikvah prizes to pupils from amongst schools that have
run competitions to raise awareness of the Holocaust.
Finally, we are grateful to the Bernard Charitable Trust (from the UK) for funding this
event.
If you have not had an invitation and would like to attend then please apply via our
Contact page.
December 10 2012
Asociatia Tikvah is grateful to the Poliec family from Constanta for donating their
collection of English language Jewish interest books to us for onward lending to
students, teachers and researchers in Oradea (and others with interest in the
subjects). Further details will be available in the next month on our website.
November 4-6 2012
Representatives of Holocaust organisations from 13 countries met in Vienna to discuss
the role of Holocaust education with a particular emphasis on innovative steps being
taken by the Austrian Government to engage young people with the history of the
Second World War.
This meeting of the Association of Holocaust Organizations was brought together
under the indefatigable and inspirational leadership of Bill Shulman.
© Parlamentsdirektion/Bildagentur Zolles KG/Christian Hofer
Asociatia Tikvah sent three representatives to the conference and participated in visits
to the Vienna Jewish Museum and the Mauthausen and Hartheim Memorials.
We were all impressed with the hospitality and organisation by Martina Maschke and
her team from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture.
We were also honoured with a Reception at the Palais Epstein hosted by Mag. Barbara
Prammer, the President of the Austrian National Council.
© Parlamentsdirektion/Bildagentur Zolles KG/Christian Hofer
A selection of photographs from our visit follows:
Vienna Jewish Museum
Mauthausen Camp
Head of Mauthausen Education Unit, Yariv Lapid, explaining their new education
concept and (below) with Maia Teszler of Asociatia Tikvah
Hartheim Euthanasia Centre and Memorial
The President of the Austrian National Council, Barbara Prammer, addressing
delegates at the Palais Epstein
Martina Maschke and Gerhard Baumgartner addressing the audience on the
Roma Genocide
October 20 2012
On 20 October, we made our second visit to the Northern Transylvanian Holocaust
Museum in Simleu-Silvaniei, as part of our project ("The future learns from the past")
which is supported financially by Oradea Council. This time, the participants, pupils and
accompanying teachers have been from: Colegiul National "Iosif Vulcan", Liceul teologic
baptist "Emanuel", Liceul teoretic "Ady Endre", Liceul teologic penticostal "Betel", Liceul
teoretic "Onisifor Ghibu". The participants followed the same programme of the previous
week.
October 13 2012
Pupils and teachers of two schools in Oradea made the long trip to Simleu-Silvaniei at
the weekend to be greeted by Daniel Stejeran, the Director of the Northern
Transylvanian Holocaust Memorial Museum. The schools were Colegiul Mihai Eminescu,
with history teacher Cristina Marian, and Liceul Greco-Catolic with history teacher
Mihaela Olau.
The visit had been arranged by Asociatia Tikvah with support from Oradea City Council.
Daniel Stejeran described the origins/mission of the Museum and explained the fate of
the Jews of Salaj county in the Holocaust He then introduced the video “Footprints”
which has been brought to Romania by Asociatia Tikvah.
The presentation took place in the old Jewish School which has been rescued from
dereliction, as has been the synagogue of Simleu-Silvaniei which was opened for the
visit. It is now in the course of restoration.
October 10 2012
The Eva Heyman exhibition paid a visit to the "Szent Laszlo" Catholic High School in
Oradea between 10th and 12th October. We are grateful to the director, Professor Eva
Maria Zalder, and vice-director Professor Haracsek Klementina for hosting the
exhibition.
October 5 2012
The Onisifor Ghibu High School displayed our Eva Heyman travelling exhibition for three
days and, on the final day yesterday, we presented the Romanian version of the
University of London/United Nations video "Footprints".
The Footprints video is part of a package for teachers to explore the Holocaust through
authentic artefacts and which has been translated by Asociatia Tikvah for use in
Romania.
September 21 2012
Asociatia Tikvah was honoured earlier this month to receive a message of
encouragement from Professor Elie Wiesel where he commented that our mission was
"extremely crucial" at this time. He also encouraged Tikvah to "continue its great work"
and "continue to acknowledge the events of the past and encourage future
generations to create a better and more harmonious world".
We intend to follow his wise words.
September 12 2012
At a ceremony in Oradea today the United States Ambassador to Romania, Mark
Gitenstein presented a cheque for $129,600 to the Jewish Community of Oradea as a
contribution to the restoration of the beautiful Primariei (Teleki) Street orthodox
synagogue.
The funds come from the Cultural Fund of the US State Department and will greatly
assist the creation of a Jewish museum and learning centre in the restored synagogue.
These will be based upon the plans of architect Cristian Puscas and his team of
students from the Faculty of Architecture and Construction.
Mayor of Oradea, Ilie Bolojan, is pictured (left) next to Ambassador Gitenstein and his
wife.
August 17 2012
Asociatia Tikvah has made further progress in its quest to have a memorial garden in
Oradea to commemorate the deported Jewish children. Recently we have received from
Oradea City Council a "Certificat de Urbanism" approving the location and broad design
in Nicolae Balcescu Park (where the trains departed to Auschwitz).
We are now searching for funding to buy the materials for a statue of Eva Heyman,
who will represent that lost generation of children. Please consider if you can help.
The statue will be designed and created, at no cost, by the distinguished international
artist Flor Kent.artist Flor Kent.
Some examples of Flor Kent's work that are situated in prominent locations around
Europe can be seen below:
Vienna
London
Prague
August 7 2012
Abraham Sonnenfeld came from one of the best-known families of Oradea. Generations
of the Sonnenfeld family grew up in Oradea and built one of the most respected, high-
quality, printing firms in Europe.
What is less well-known is that the Sonnenfelds were part of a truly remarkable
episode whereby three members of the family were recruited from within Auschwitz to
become part of a highly-secret counterfeiting team formed by the Nazis to try to
destabilise the currencies of the Allied countries. The events were made into an Award-
winning international film "The Counterfeiters".
Abraham paid a last visit to Oradea in May 2012 and he provided Asociatia Tikvah with
many memories and pictures which we are privileged to display together with the detail
of his remarkable story.
Abraham died in July 2012 in Israel.
Click on the image above for the story
July 13 2012
Asociatia Tikvah were pleased to be invited to the Ady Endre, Hungarian language High
School to show our exhibition and make a presentation.
The occasion was an exchange visit of pupils from Germany, who were themselves
accompanied by young people from Fonyod in Hungary.
In order to meet all the language needs we addressed the audience in English.
The pupils of the Franz-Ludwig Gymnasium from Bamberg in Bavaria are pictured below
with Emilia Teszler of Asociatia Tikvah.
July 10 2012
When we at Asociatia Tikvah take our travelling exhibition and presentation into
schools we try and get young people to engage with the subject of the Holocaust and
human rights as they exist today.
We have found that this combination of subjects often provokes deep reactions from
pupils and stimulates them to contribute, often in writing.
As a small example, we are reproducing a selection of contributions from a single
school, translated into English. We hope that you find them informative.
For our part, this type of feedback from pupils will guide us as we prepare future
exhibitions.
June 15 - 16 2012
Asociatia Tikvah was one of the organisations asked to participate in an International
Seminar on the teaching of the Holocaust in schools in Romania over the two days June
15/16 in Simleu-Silvaniei held at the former Jewish school (now the multicultural center
"Shalom").
The driving force behind the creation of the Museum in Simleu , Dr. Alex Hecht , is
pictured below at the seminar with Emilia Teszler, from Asociatia Tikvah.
One of the distinguished speakers included Aurel Vainer, the President of the Federation
of Jewish Communities in Romania who is pictured below.
Asociatia Tikvah presented its travelling exhibition and Emilia Teszler also addressed
the seminar about the experience we have had in interacting with teachers and pupils
in schools.
June 7 2012
On 7 June, Asociatia Tikvah was invited to participate to the commemoration of the
deportation of the Jews from Salonta. We took our mobile exhibition and Emilia Teszler
gave a presentation to an audience which comprised, representatives from the local
authorities, from different faiths, teachers, school children and the small number of
Jews still living in Salonta.
The Jewish Community of Oradea was represented by Andrei Seidler, the Director of the
Jewish Community Centre and by the rabbi Ehrenfeld and his wife. The special guest of
Emilia Teszler was Count Tisza Gyorgy, whose father, according to contemporary
sources, helped people in those difficult times, including many Jews. Count Tisza
received from Asociatia Tikvah, as a gift, a book where his father is mentioned as one
of those who helped Jews who were trying to escape to safety.
June 7 2012
We have added a new section to our website in the Holocaust section called Escape
from the ghetto. It is a section which will be developed over time, but it is off to a
good start with the research of Dániel Lőwy giving much of the detail of a daring plan
to fool the ghetto authorities into thinking that they had a typhus outbreak on their
hands.
June 3 2012
The deportation of the Jews from Oradea which was completed in June 1944 was
commemorated today by a lighting of six candles in the synagogue by Holocaust
survivors. One candle for each million Jews that were lost in the Holocaust.
After leaving the synagogue the commemoration group moved to the Monument to
Deportees for prayers. In the centre left is one of the representatives of Asociatia
Tikvah.
The Asociatia Tikvah travelling exhibition was erected in the Jewish Community Centre
for viewing by people attending the commemoration.
June 1 2012
Our travelling exhibition moved back to Oradea and we received a welcoming
reception at the Betel Pentecostal Theological College. We are grateful to the College
for the fine facilities made available and also to Professor Onisim Cozma (pictured below
with students), the Director of the College. Emilia Teszler from Asociatia Tikvah
addressed the students before they toured the exhibition.
29 - 30 May 2012
Once more our exhibition went travelling. Firstly to the Emanuel Theological Baptist
School in Oradea where we were warmly received by staff and pupils. Particular thanks
to the Director, Constantin Buleandra.
Then the exhibition moved on to third school outside of Oradea that we have visited,
when we arrived in Salonta and were welcomed at the National College "Arany Janos".
We are grateful to the Deputy Director, Alina Mitran, for providing her help and a
good exhibition area.
30 May 2012
Asociatia Tikvah wanted to take young people from Oradea to
the NorthernTransylvanian Holocaust Memorial Museum in Simleu Silvaniei in order to
add a to their knowledge of Transylvanian history. We applied to the Oradea City
Council for funding to allow this to happen.
We are pleased to announce that we have been granted funds by the Council which will
enable us to take two parties of young people to the newly refurbished facilities in
Simleu Silvaniei. We will report on the trips later in the year.
24 - 25 May 2012
On 24 May we participated in the County phase of the Ministry of Education's
national Holocaust Memorial competition held at the Greek-Catholic Theological School
"Iuliu Maniu". Our itinerant exhibition provided an appropriate backdrop to the event and
has remained at the School so that more pupils may learn about this period of Oradea's
history.
Asociatia Tikvah also presented prizes of the Diary of Anne Frank to winners of the
competition. Shown above are two prizewinners with Emilia Teszler (second from left)
from Asociatia Tikvah and Mihaela Olau, history teacher at "Iuliu Maniu" (to the right).
Pictured above are teachers, competitors and organisers.
24 May 2012
Associatia Tikvah congratulates its Honorary Member from the UK, Mr. John Andrews
OBE, for receiving this evening, the Lifetime Achievement Award, at the UK Taxation
Awards in London's Hilton Hotel.
22 - 23 May 2012
At the invitation of the University of Oradea, Asociatia Tikvah took its Eva Heyman
exhibition to the University Library on 22 and 23 May.
We are grateful to Crisana for providing photographs of the presentation and exhibition
at the Library of the University of Oradea.
18 May 2012
On the 17 and 18th of May, the Eva Heyman exhibition was hosted by the High School
" Nicolae Jiga" from Tinca. Tinca is the smallest community which has received the
exhibition to date, but the School has around 900 pupils.
Asociatia Tikvah is grateful to the school manager, Madear Viorica Ana, for the
excellent display conditions provided and for the enthusiasm and interest displayed by
both teachers and pupils. Large numbers participated and below is one class posing for
a group picture.
17 May 2012
For the first time, we have taken our Eva Heyman exhibition to a major town outside
Oradea. On 16 May we were welcomed by Traian Stanciu, the manager of the Colegiul
National "Samuil Vulcan" in Beius.
This High School has around 900 pupils and the majority had an opportunity to view the
exhibition. We also thank Cristina Marian, a history teacher from the NGO Qvalis, for
sharing the teaching and presentation tasks with Emilia Teszler of Asociatia Tikvah.
13 May 2012
Asociatia Tikvah has given assistance to a number of former Oradea residents in
preparing a submission to the Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority to
obtain recognition for the actions of the physician Dr Beothy Konrad and the gendarme
Ladi Gyula.
Both of these remarkable men in their own ways, at risk to themselves and for no
reward, helped Jews escape from the Oradea ghetto in 1944.
We will be telling the full story of that escape in a few weeks time, but if any readers of
this website have any information about the two individuals or their families we would
be very grateful to receive it.
8-11 May 2012
Continuing the successful tour of schools in Oradea, the Eva Heyman exhibition moved
on to both Colegiul National "Emanuil Gojdu" and Colegiul National "Iosif Vulcan". Once
again we are most grateful to the school management and their history teachers for
their helpful co-operation.
The exhibition was at "Emanuil Gojdu" on the 8-9 May and pictured below is Radu Birta,
the history teacher, with Emilia Teszler from Asociatia Tikvah.
The exhibition moved on to "Iosif Vulcan" on the 10-11 May and the Vice-Manager of
the school, Rodica Craciun and the history teacher Alexandrina Craciun are pictured
together with Emilia Teszler from Asociatia Tikvah.
6 May 2012
Professor Mircea Paşca, the architectural historian, has helped Asociatia Tikvah to
accumulate information concerning a range of buildings with Jewish relevance in Oradea
and to provide much of the historical background to the prominent Jewish architects
and builders. More of this information will be appearing over time on our website.
Examples of recent books by Mircea Paşca can be found on our Buildings section,
including his latest work on Oradea’s famous Ullmann Palace.
5 May 2012
Further to our News item of 6 March concerning our "Eva Heyman memorial garden
project" we are pleased to confirm that a provisional location within Balcescu Park has
been agreed. There are, however, some administrative issues to be resolved regarding
Council maps, which may take a little time.
Asociatia Tikvah is also pleased to announce that the prominent architect, Emodi
Tamas, has agreed to assist with the design and to deal with the required paperwork on
a voluntary basis. We are very grateful.
1 May 2012
For the last few months, Asociatia Tikvah has been working with the United Nations in
New York and the Institute of Education of the University of London to produce a
Romanian version of the “Footprints” DVD, lesson plan and powerpoint presentation.
This educational DVD was created for the Footprints for Hope project, an initiative from
the “Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme” designed to involve
students aged 13 years and older in the study of the Holocaust. This film is
accompanied by a lesson plan and a PowerPoint presentation.
The DVD and accompanying tools for teachers are currently being shipped to Romania
for approval from the Ministry of Education for subsequent distribution to schools. This
DVD has been used in schools around the world and we hope that teachers in Oradea
and throughout Romania will appreciate it also.
Asociatia Tikvah is grateful to the Memorial Library of New York which has sponsored
the production of this Romanian version of the Footprints DVD and lesson plan. The
founder of the Memorial Library, Olga Lengyel, was herself deported from Transylvania
to Auschwitz.
26 April 2012
Today, around 100 pupils of the Ady Endre High School were addressed by Fazakas
Gabor (History teacher at the School) and Emilia Teszler (President of Asociatia Tikvah)
on the opening of the Eva Heyman travelling exhibition. The exhibition will remain at the
school for two days and stimulate debate about human rights amongst the 900 pupils.
The School teaches its pupils almost exclusively in Hungarian.
Asociatia Tikvah is particularly grateful to Fazakas Gabor who has been leading
the translation of our website into Hungarian on a voluntary basis and he is pictured
below with Emilia Teszler in front of part of the exhibition panels.
22 April 2012
Last week Asociatia Tikvah journeyed to Budapest to meet with the well-
known publisher and literary critic Réz Pál. As a young boy, Rafael Kupfer, as he was
then known, was a captive, along with his father Dr Miksa Kupfer in the Oradea
ghetto. He managed to escape through a brilliant plan devised by his father to create a
false typhus epidemic inside the ghetto. We are in touch with several of the escapees
and their families and we will be producing a special section on our website covering
the escape when our own research is complete and added to the existing material of
others.
Réz Pál is pictured below in his Budapest apartment.
31 March 2012
On 29 March Asociatia Tikvah was pleased to launch its exhibition telling the story of
Eva Heyman, a Jewish girl with a red bicycle. At the Colegiul National Mihai Eminescu in
Oradea the exhibition was introduced by Emilia Teszler, the President of Asociatia
Tikvah, to three classes of the school. Following the launch, the exhibition was opened
to all the pupils of the school.
The exhibition maps the life of Eva Heyman, a young Jewish girl in Oradea in the 1940s,
and compares it with the events across Europe in the same time period. It also focuses
upon the events in 1944 when the large Jewish population of Oradea was imprisoned in
ghettos and then deported to Auschwitz.
However, the message of the exhibition is not to dwell upon a terrible events of 1944,
but to understand how they were allowed to come about and what lessons there are
that apply in today’s world. The exhibition also highlights those who risked their own
lives in saving others and how from those dark days the world united to formulate the
concept of human rights. It enforces the view that it is essential to respect such rights
in today’s world and to be on guard against any growth in new prejudice and
discrimination. 
The exhibition was in place for two days allowing many pupils to gain a greater
understanding of the history of their city and a realisation of where prejudice can lead.
Asociatia Tikvah is extremely grateful to the Joods Humanitair Fonds and the Bernard
Charitable Trust for funding this exhibition. The exhibition will now move on to other
high schools of Oradea and the wider Bihor.
We are grateful to Crisana and Erdely Online for providing photographs of the launch of
the exhibition.
28 March 2012
Tomorrow, we launch the first of our Eva Heyman series of exhibitions at Colegiul National
Mihai Eminescu in Oradea. Watch out for pictures of the event which will be posted here
shortly.
6 March 2012
Further to our News item of 5 January when we covered our meeting with the Mayor
of Oradea about our "Eva Heyman memorial garden project" we are pleased to confirm
that the Council have agreed to our proposals in principle. There are still many steps to
climb but this important one has now been achieved. We will report further when the
precise location of the garden in Balcescu Park has been agreed.
6 February 2012
We are pleased to announce that we have just added a series of mini-videos to our
Survivors' testimonies section. In them, Hedy Bohm, who was a young Jewish girl in
Oradea during the war, tells what it was like to grow up in the city.
She also tells us about the growth in anti-semitism; the ghetto and the transportation
to Auschwitz; the separation from her parents; surviving in Auschwitz; the liberation;
and her life after the War in Oradea and Canada.
It is a poignant tale told from the heart and illustrated with pictures that bring it all to
life.
6 February 2012
Under the leadership of Professor Dr. Antonio Faur, a new centre for Jewish History will
be inaugurated today at the University of Oradea.
We wish this important initiative the best of fortune. We will keep our website
readers informed of activities and projects that they will initiate.
31 January 2012
Asociatia Tikvah was very pleased to be invited by UNESCO to the symposium in Paris
covering International Dimensions of Holocaust Education. It was an inspiring event
addressed by an array of eminent speakers starting with Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General
of UNESCO who gave the Welcome Address.
The Asociatia Tikvah representative was made very welcome and a number of organisations
offered their support to our important initiative.
The Keynote Speech was given by Professor Yehuda Bauer (below) from the University of
Jerusalem on the subject of "The Universal Message Behind Holocaust Education".
20 January 2012
The 2012 observance of the International Day of Commemoration (27 January) in memory of
the victims of the Holocaust will focus on the theme “Children and the Holocaust”. The
United Nations will remember the one-and-a-half million Jewish children who perished in the
Holocaust, together with the thousands of Roma and Sinti children, the disabled and others,
who suffered and died at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators.
This is particularly close to the hearts of Asociatia Tikvah which is campaigning for a
memorial garden in Oradea for the lost children from this city.
The United Nations have produced a special film and lesson plan about the dreams of a
young Jewish boy from Prague who perished in the Holocaust.
Closer to home, there are some impressive commemoration events planned. These start on
26 January in Simleu - Silvaniei at 16.00 when there will be a ceremony involving lighting of
candles by children, a welcome to a delegation of young ambassadors from Israel, followed
by speeches and a formal dinner. The organisation is by the Northern Transylvanian
Holocaust Memorial Museum, under the direction of Daniel Stejeran.
On Saturday 27 January everyone is invited at 11.00 to the Holocaust Memorial in Oradea
where there will be a ceremony for two hours, followed by a guided tour of the city, covering
in particular the Oradea ghetto areas. The principle organisation is by the Jewish Community
of Oradea.
Asociatia Tikvah believes it is important for Northern Transylvania to acknowledge the
International Holocaust Commemoration Day which is fixed by reference to the liberation of
Auschwitz-Birkenau to where nearly all of the Jews of the region were deported. Romania
has its own memorial day on October 9th.
5 January 2012
Yesterday, Tikvah was pleased to meet with the Mayor of Oradea, Ilie Bolojan, to
discuss an Asociatia Tikvah proposal for a memorial garden to remember all the children
of Oradea who were lost in the Holocaust. The location would be in a central park and
it would be named after one of the young girls who lost their lives in Auschwitz, Eva
Heyman, who kept a diary of her experiences.
hear further within 30 days.
Prior to our meeting a "protocol de colaborare" was entered into with one of the leading
high schools from Oradea, Colegiul National Mihai Eminescu (former Liceul 4). One of the
principal provisions was that, should the memorial garden go ahead, the children of the
school will tend the garden in the first year. We would hope that more schools would
join later.
Kent, to produce a sculpture of Eva Heyman for the garden site. Flor has sculptures in
prominent public locations in London, Vienna and Prague. This will be dependent upon
raising funds for materials.
1 January 2012
Happy New Year!
be the creation of a travelling exhibition for schools illustrating the dangers of
discrimination and prejudice.
We are most grateful to the Joods Humanitair Fonds and the Bernard Charitable Trust
for funding this initiative.
6 December 2011
We are honoured and proud to be accepted as a member of the AHO-Association of
29 November 2011
At last we launched our website and although it is not complete by any means, we felt
that it now contained sufficient information to be useful and to show the reader our
direction of travel.
September 2010 to 28 November 2011
For our small group of volunteers it has been a very interesting few months during
which we have focused upon speaking with experts from around the world about
the issues which we want to address. We have learned an enormous amount, but
all that has done is to show us how much more there is for us to understand and
discover.
But, even at this early stage, we have a lot of people to thank for their encouragement
and help.
AdmirorGallery 5.1.1, author/s Vasiljevski & Kekeljevic.
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