Federation Star - January 2017

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22A Federation Star January 2017 The Wannsee Conference at 75 By Paul R. Bartrop, PhD One of the most frequently discussed – and misunderstood – events of the Holocaust took place exactly 75 years ago this month. On January 20, 1942, in a home at 56-58 Am Grossen Wannsee, Berlin, formerly owned by a Jewish family, a group of high-ranking Nazi officials held a short conference in which they discussed the coordination and implementation of the Dr. Paul Bartrop “Final Solution of the Jewish Problem” – the coded phrase for the extermination of all of Europe’s 11 million Jews. The meeting was convened by Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Reich Security Main Office, or RSHA. Those attending were Heydrich (presiding), Adolf Eichmann (RSHA, Unit IV B4), Alfred Mayer and Georg Leibbrandt (Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories), Wilhelm Stuckart (Interior), Erich Neumann (Office of the Four Year Plan), Roland Freisler (Justice), Josef Bühler (Director General of the Generalgouvernement), Martin Luther (Foreign Office), Gerhard Klopfer and Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger (Reich Chancellery), Otto Hofmann (Race and Settlement Main Office), Heinrich Müller (RSHA), Karl Eberhard Schöngarth (Commander SD/SiPO Kraków) and Rudolf Lange (Commander SD Latvia). Within this group of 15 men were numbered nine lawyers; eight of those attending had earned doctoral degrees. The German invasion and occupation of Eastern Europe presented a demographic challenge for the Nazis because of the large Jewish populations in those areas. By the end of 1941, the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, recognized that deportation and emigration were no longer adequate for the task of eliminating the Jews; he thus authorized Heydrich to create the bureaucracy and arrangements for the Final Solution, and it was the conference at Wannsee that dealt with these matters. Henceforth, Jews from across Europe were to be “evacuated to the East.” Those to be murdered included the Jews of Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and other places, both neutral and yet-to-be-occupied. The decision to annihilate all of Europe’s Jews had already been made during the late spring or early summer of 1941. No one can determine this with precision, but it is clear that the decision had nothing to do with Wannsee several months later. The purpose of the meeting was to further discuss and resolve questions regarding the execution of directives already made. Therefore, the conference was intended to move the process of death forward, beyond the work already being accomplished in Russia by the Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing squads). Accordingly, the delegates discussed whether or not there was a more “efficient” way to accomplish the core end of mass murder, meeting the organizational challenges of identifying, transporting, housing and eventually eliminating the European Jews. Among the discussion items stemming from this was the use of mobile gas killing vans and large-scale stationary gas chambers. The conference also established policies for the treatment of Jews who were of “mixed blood” (so-called Mischlinge), or in mixed marriages, using the Nazi racial laws set down at Nuremberg. Criteria were established for dealing with the Mischlinge, who were divided into a complex classification system based on “degrees” of “mixed blood.” Heydrich closed the meeting with a call for cooperation among all ministries present, after which food and drink were provided. Several of the participants remained after the meeting broke up to socialize and enjoy good fellowship. Eichmann later related that the attendees were quite jovial, the liquor flowed freely and that the cakes were delicious. Heydrich toasted the successful outcome of the meeting with a glass of cognac. Eichmann was tasked with drawing up the protocols resulting from the meeting, and Heydrich ordered that they were to be carefully drafted using coded language and euphemisms. The result was a short summary document in which the purposes of the meeting were outlined, together with conclusions as to next steps. The resultant document was then edited by Heydrich himself. Thirty copies were made, and those who had been present were ordered to read over their copy and then destroy it. One, however, remained. In 1947, Martin Luther’s copy was located, enabling the story of the conference at Wannsee to be reconstructed. Then, at the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem in 1961, many of the tentative conclusions reached by earlier researchers were confirmed by Eichmann’s testimony. Soon after the conference, plans for what would eventually become the system of death camps went forward in earnest, and the deadliest phase of the Holocaust began. Today, the villa at Wannsee is a JEWISH INTEREST Holocaust memorial and museum, visited by hundreds of people every day. It was opened on January 20, 1992, the fiftieth anniversary of the conference. In view of this history, why is the meeting, as I said at the outset, so frequently misunderstood? It must be noted that the purpose of the meeting was not to discuss whether or not to implement the Final Solution, but, rather, to discuss the various and best ways of achieving the objectives of a Europe to be Judenrein (“Jew-free”). All too many people, beholding the horror of the meeting in which the fate of 11 million Jews was discussed, conclude automatically that it was here that the decision was taken for the Final Solution. It is, perhaps, a natural conclusion to draw, but it belies the fact that by the time the meeting took place up to half-a-million Jews had already been murdered. All the Wannsee Conference did was to confirm and coordinate – in reality, to make more efficient – a situation of mass annihilation that was already well in train by January 1942. The bureaucracy of death, thus activated, became an unstoppable force that only the defeat of the Nazis in 1945 could defeat. Dr. Paul Bartrop is Professor of History and the Director of the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University. He can be reached at pbartrop@fgcu. edu. Send your letters and comments to fedstar18@gmail.com ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA Southwest Florida Chapter Wednesday, January 25, 2017 at 7:30 PM Raheel Raza Islamic Extremism: A Muslim Woman’s Perspective Raheel Raza is a Muslim woman activist born in Pakistan, living in Toronto with her husband and two daughters. Brought up in a culture where women were supposed to “be seen and not heard,” she has kicked up quite a hornets’ nest. As outspoken advocate for gender equality and an activist for women’s rights internationally, Raza has appeared many times in print, radio and television to reveal and debate Canadian issues related to media, diversity, gender and immigration. She is an author, lecturer, and strong advocate for the State of Israel. When asked to describe herself, Raza stated: “I’m an activist for women’s rights and I believe that women – being more than 50% of the world’s population – once they are empowered politically, economically and socially, they will be changed because they are the ones that bring up young men. This will be a unique opportunity to hear a Muslim woman expose gender inequality within Islam, and the ways she opposes it. Chabad Jewish Center of Naples, 1789 Mandarin Road, Naples, FL 34103 Admission: $20.00 prepaid by mail $22.00 at the door $7.00 Students with valid ID To ensure faster seating, prepayment is suggested Make checks payable to: ZOA of Southwest Florida 4003 Upolo Lane Naples, FL 34119 914-329-1024
JEWISH INTEREST My first minyan By Michael Moskowitz, #183986, Charlotte Correctional Institution We had just moved to Broward County, Florida, from York. He was left-handed (a “no-no” ly 1920s, and lived in Brooklyn, New Long Island, New York. back then), had polio as a youth, and Just me and my mother. It was one of grew up with the Dead End Kids, who the many nights I had to stay next door were later known as the Bowery Boys. until my mom got off work. My parents He also served in Europe during World had split up twice by this time. I think War II and was stationed in France. I was about six or seven then, and am As a teen, I came to prison and soon now forty-six. There was a program on after was sent to my first adult facility. TV called Holocaust. So I was watching it not knowing what it was about stitution and has since closed down. It was called Hendry Correctional In- or that it had anything to do with me Within days of entering Hendry, some and my ethnicity. I do recall the fear it Jewish prisoners approached me with invoked in me. To this day, whenever I the information that some Jews would see a photograph of prisoners in concentration camps, I search the haunting world and they wanted to meet me… be coming into the prison from the free faces to wonder if, by chance, maybe AND there would also be good Jewish we are related in some way. food to nosh! Having been a troubled My Jewish experience at home youth, no one previously ever wanted was limited to food only. Bagels and to meet me, so this instance of people lox; beef tongue thinly cut on rye with wanting to meet me (and the situation a swipe of mustard and kosher coleslaw smeared on it; pickled herring; needless to say, piqued my interest. being laced with good Jewish food!), sesame seed candy; matzo and many So there I was in the midst of a other Jewish treats. However, what group of Jewish prisoners, a youngish was missing was Hashem, His Torah Rabbi Seth and the most kind, humble and a sense of belonging spiritually. and warm little old guy, pumping my Jacob Lewis Moskowitz was my hand and shaloming me vigorously as father’s name. His family came from he directed me to the great spread of Russia when he was a child in the ear- Jewish food. My first minyan! January 2017 Federation Star 23A The extraordinary friendship of The Pope and a Rabbi By Jeff Margolis Rabbi Abraham Skorka is not your typical pulpit clergyman. Trained in rabbinical school in Argentina, he is the rector of the Seminario Rabinico Latinoamericano (Latin American Jewish Seminary) in Buenos Aires. He also serves as the spiritual leader of Benei Tikva, a conservative synagogue in Buenos Aires, as well as a professor of biblical and rabbinic literature. And, by the way, he is also a biophysicist. Another thing that makes Rabbi Skorka unique is his friendship with Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who now happens to be Pope Francis. They consider each other as brothers and keep in touch by email. The two have worked together for years improving Catholic- Jewish relations and appeared on many occasions on Buenos Aires television. In 2010, the Rabbi and the Cardinal collaborated on the book On Heaven and Earth, which examines faith and family in the context of both Judaism and Catholicism. The English version made the New York Times bestseller list. Recently, Rabbi Skorka was invited to Saint Leo University in St. Leo, Florida, as part of a symposium on Catholic- Jewish dialogue. Saint Leo University’s Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies has been at the forefront in interreligious dialogue. Established in 1998 by Saint Leo University President Emeritus Arthur Kirk and distinguished area Rabbi James Rudin, the Center is dedicated to the study of Catholic-Jewish relations and to build bridges that lead to justice and peace. Saint Leo is the oldest Catholic college in Florida and the fourth largest such institution in the United States. Rabbi Skorka was also honored with the Center’s Eternal Light Award, presented to those who have contributed to the cause of Catholic-Jewish relations. Past recipients have included Professor Deborah Lipstadt, Most Reverend John J. Nevins, Bishop of Diocese of Venice, and Rabbi James Rudin. In his remarks, Rabbi Skorka spoke about the importance of the Second Vatican Council and the Nostre Aetate (In Our Time) document that led to an BUSINESS DIRECTORY unprecedented improvement in Catholic- Jewish relations worldwide. He noted that Pope Francis has been extraordinary in his actions when they traveled to Israel together. He was the first Pope to visit the tomb of Theodore Herzl and believes in Israel’s right to exist. Rabbi Skorka believes that “religion is an important element in our lives. Interfaith dialogue must matter to us,” he asserts. Dr. Matthew Tapie, Director of the Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at Saint Leo University and organizer of the event, said, “I hope our dialogue on these topics will help us see clearly the significance of Catholic-Jewish friendships in Florida and how our relationships might be deepened as we work together.” This article was first published in the September 2016 edition of L’CHAYIM, the monthly newspaper of the Jewish Federation of Lee and Charlotte Counties. Sid Kleiner is the president of Beth Tikvah Jewish Prisoner Outreach, Serving Jewish Inmates & Their Loved Ones. He can be reached at: 10188 Winterview Drive, Naples, FL 34109-1520 Phone: 239.566.7702 email: BTJPO@comcast.net That was nearly 30 years ago, but I walked away with two very permanent impressions. The first was when Rabbi Seth cut an apple sideways in order to show us a nice star-shaped design inside of the apple, and his lesson of how everything in life is very much the result of how you approach it, so to speak. Even the seemingly worst of situations will be no more nor less than what we make of them. The other impression was made by the little old guy who accompanied Rabbi Seth that day so long ago. Why? Because from that day forward to right now, that guy actively infused Rabbi Seth’s lesson into my life by being my spiritual adviser, father figure, advocate, brother and friend. Over the span of the past three decades, no single person reached into my life and made such an impact. For me, he has been the face of Judaism. For me, he has been the face of the Jewish people. For me, he has been the face, which by far, most reflects Hashem and His promise. Today, this little old guy is much more advanced in years, and contending with the challenges to health which those years carry with them. Having no other family left, I am now faced with the reality that our bond will move from the physical into the spiritual one day, sooner than I’d like. I’m not too ashamed to say that I’m afraid and wrought with worry. Not just for myself, but for the countless lives he has touched, the men in prison he’s helped, and indeed, saved from the adversities often faced in prison. And, too, I’d be remiss if I failed to think of his dear wife and family, who so selflessly share this wonderful man with all of us. So, more than any written word, study, congregation, tradition, food or countless other facets of Jewry, my greatest experience of being Jewish comes from one little old Jewish guy grabbing hold of me and refusing to let go, no matter what. Is this not what Hashem would have us all do? Chaver Sid Kleiner has not missed nor skirted even the smallest task from Hashem. I wish to thank him for showing me my identity within the Chosen People and his love. ATTORNEY - ESTATE PLANNING A. STEPHEN KOTLER Board Certified Wills, Trusts and Estate Lawyer Comprehensive Wealth Transfer Planning Asset Preservation • Federal Transfer Tax Probate and Trust Administration Elder Law and Special Needs KOTLER LAW FIRM P.L. 999 Vanderbilt Beach Road Suite 200 Naples, Florida 34108 PRINTING Phone 239.325.2333 skotler@kotlerpl.com Want to see your business in this spot? For more information or to place an ad, call Ted Epstein at 239.249.0699. CPA Taxes: Individual (including any State), Corporate, Partnership, Trusts & Estates ~ ~ ~ QuickBooks, IRS Representation, Business Consulting Services and Bookkeeping Stacy Hersha, CPA Call for appointment 239-200-4745 JEWELER SENIOR HOUSING “Your #1 Source for Senior Housing Advice” (239) 595-0207 www.seniorhousingsolutions.net INSURANCE Have Medicare questions? We have answers. Mitchell Dannenberg, cltc (239) 461-5511 PLEASE SUPPORT THE ADVERTISERS WHO HELP MAKE THE FEDERATION STAR POSSIBLE. TRANSPORTATION CALL SAUL YOUR PERSONAL DRIVER • COMFORTABLE • AFFORDABLE • ON TIME • FLORIDA AIRPORTS & CRUISE LINES • DINNER & EVENTS • CONCIERGE RIDES • DR. APPTS • SHOPPING • NAPLES • MARCO ISLAND • FORT MYERS • MIAMI • FT LAUDERDALE • TAMPA/ST PETE • ORLANDO • LUXURY SEDANS • S-T-R-E-T-C-H LIMOS • BUSES • GROUPS 1-100+ • LICENSED & INSURED DISCOUNTS FOR FED STAR READERS ONLINE: WWW.CALLSAULYOURPERSONALDRIVER.COM (239) 777-2918
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Federation Star - January 2017

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