Keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive
Holocaust survivors are afraid that history can repeat itself, because they have seen with their own eyes what people are capable of. We are at a sensitive moment in knowledge transfer about the Holocaust, because only a few contemporary witnesses of this terrible genocide are still among us. It is important to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and to deal with it again and again. We offer the following possibilities.
Holocaust survivors know that history can repeat itself, because they have seen with their own eyes what people are capable of. We are at a sensitive moment in knowledge transfer about the Holocaust, because only a few contemporary witnesses of this terrible genocide are still among us. It is important to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and to deal with it again and again. We offer the following possibilities.
FIELD TRIPS
FIELD TRIPS
Field Trips to Auschwitz
We support educational field trips to Auschwitz organized by the “Foundation against Racism and Anti-Semitism (GRA)”. Together with the GRA Foundation against Racism and Anti-Semitism and the Augustin Keller Loge (AKL), the Gamaraal Foundation has been supporting study trips to the “places of National Socialism and the extermination of the Jews” for many years. The aim of these trips is to sensitize young people and pupils to the topic of exclusion, anti-Semitism and racism. The class should prepare profoundly for the multi-day trip and also compose a written travelogue. The students should show what they have learned dealing with the topic of the Holocaust in the future.
TEACHING
TEACHING
The Life After
“The Life After” project aims to show children and students the consequences of the Holocaust, how the survivors continued their lives and the impacts of their experiences on the next generations. Therefore, people of the second generation go to schools and share their experiences and stories.
May I reiterate my support for your Gamaaral Foundation and, in particular, for your compelling and commendable initiative to alleviate the painful situation of Holocaust survivors living in poverty. This is one of the most urgent and necessary of causes and your initiative deserves the support of all those who care about justice and remembrance.
Irwin Cotler, Former Member of the Canadian Parliament for Mount Royal
FIELDS OF ACTIVITY
FIELDS OF ACTIVITY
Funds
The Foundation makes three contributions of a three-digit amounts to the Holocaust survivors living in difficult situation every year on the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashana, Hanukkah and Pessach. The project was launched in 2015, and already 20 rounds of contribution have been made.
Medical aid, such as: hearing aids, dental treatment, vision aids, walking aids, orthopedic shoes, wheelchairs, Incontinent products, compression stockings, etc. are available.
Education
One of the main goals of the foundation is genocide prevention. Therefore, we invest in educating people. We bring Holocaust survivors to school classes to talk about their past experiences. Additionally, we organise interviews and talks with Holocaust survivors to spread the word and inform people about the atrocities of the Holocaust.
Preservation
We help to preserve Holocaust survivors’ testimonies. It is our responsibility to learn from these brave individuals and ensure that the horrible events of the Holocaust are not forgotten, and that such atrocities never happen again.
Oral history
During the Spring semester 2019, a research seminar of the Center for Jewish Studies in Basel on the topic “Oral History and Jewish History in Switzerland” was held in cooperation with the Archive for Contemporary History at the ETH of Zuerich and the Gamaraal Foundation. Interviews with contemporary witnesses of Swiss-Jewish history and Shoah-Resplendence were conducted.