News from the 19th Floor – Alfred Lerner Fellows – April 2021
News from the 19th Floor
AWARDS SENT TO RESCUERS
In March, awards were sent to all JFR supported Righteous living in 16 countries. The awards were sent before Easter, so the rescuers would have funds for food for the holiday. Many of the rescuers live in countries where quarantines remain in place for senior citizens. Several of our rescuers in Poland and Lithuania have been vaccinated. Three rescuers in Poland have died of COVID-19.
The rescuers are so appreciative that we have remembered them and are taking care of them during this time. They are sending emails, through their children and grandchildren, thanking the JFR and each of you for the funds that they receive. They send their good wishes!
On behalf of the rescuers, we at the JFR thank you as well for making their lives so much better and brighter. Please click here to read the notes from the rescuers.
JFR MOURNS THE PASSING OF ANNA KOZMINSKA
The JFR mourns the passing of Anna Kozminska, a Righteous Gentile from Warsaw, Poland.
Anna would have been 102 on May 12, 2021. She was the oldest JFR- supported rescuer in Poland.
Anna and her step-mother, Maria, agreed to hide eight-year-old Abraham Jablonski who had escaped from the Czestochowa ghetto as it was being liquidated by the Germans. It was September 1942, when Abraham’s uncle, who was already in hiding on the Aryan side of the city, approached Maria and asked if she would hide Abraham. Anna and Maria took care of Abraham until January 1945 when the city was liberated. Anna and Maria also gave shelter to several other Jews. Anna and Maria were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Authority in February 1991. The JFR began providing financial support to Anna in May 1991. Maria died in 1963.
May Anna’s memory be a blessing.
2021 JFR SUMMER INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS ON ZOOM
We are going to be reaching out to everyone participating in the 2021 Summer Institute for Teachers (SIT). So everyone can meet each other prior to the start of the SIT in June, we will be holding a series of Zoom calls for everyone to introduce themselves.
CELEBRATING ROMAN KENT
On April 18, Roman Kent will be 96! In April 1945, Roman was on a death march when he was liberated by the American army. If you are teaching your unit on the Holocuast in April, consider showing the JFR’s award-winning documentary on Roman’s story. Click here to watch the documentary.
Consider having your students send Roman happy birthday wishes. All good wishes can be sent to the JFR office.
YOM HASHOAH – NEW YORK CITY’S ANNUAL GATHERING OF REMEMBRANCE
On Sunday, April 11, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, please join the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust for its Yom HaShoah program. The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous is one of the partners for this annual commemoration. Click here to register for the program which will be virtual.
STAY CONNECTED
Stay connected with the JFR through our Facebook page at The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, follow us on Twitter @JFRDirector, and frequent our blog at www.jfr.org/blog.
