2009 AnnuAl RepoRt - Jewish Community Relations Council ...

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sPeaKeRs buReau For over 40 years, JCRC has provided Holocaust speakers for schools and organizations throughout Minnesota. In 2009, our speakers reached 3,500 individuals. Most of the JCRC speakers are Holocaust survivors or the children of survivors who can give teachers, students and individuals first– and second– hand testimony about the Holocaust. The JCRC Speakers Bureau also places speakers to discuss Judaism, anti- Semitism and, works with Tolerance Minnesota’s Council of Advisors to reach Minnesota’s diverse and ever-changing communities. Tolerance Minnesota’s current Council of Advisors includes: 9 JCRC Annual Report 2009 • Organization of Chinese Americans • Japanese American Citizens League • Native Academy • Hmong Cultural Center, Inc. • La Oportunidad Inc. • Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota • Minnesota AIDS project • India Association of Minnesota • Islamic Resource Group • African American Relief & Development Initiatives (ARADI) • Tibetan American Foundation Minnesota • Vietnamese Social Services of Minnesota • Outfront Minnesota • Special Olympics Minnesota 1. 2. 3. fRom top to Bottom: 1. JCRC’s 2009 Annual Event: Audience members look on as WCCO-TV’s Don Shelby moderates a discussion between State Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, Gov. Al Quie, Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, and Rep. Keith Ellison; 2. JCRC’s 2009 Annual Event: Pictured left to right: Rabbi Joseph Edelheit, Director of Religious and Jewish Studies at St. Cloud State University; Reverend Peg Chemberlin, Executive Director of the Minnesota Council of Churches and President-Elect of the National Council of Churches; and Steve Hunegs, JCRC Executive Director; 3. Iran Divestment Legislative Chief Sponsors Honored at JCRC’s 2009 Annual Event: Pictured from left to right: State Rep. Ryan Winkler, State Sen. Terri Bonoff, State Rep. Paul Kohls, and State Sen. Warren Limmer; 4. South Dakota Senator John Thune (center) receiving a copy of Israel’s Declaration of Independence from Sam Horowitz (left), Network Midwest Director at United Jewish Communities, and South Dakota JCRC board member Stephen Rosenthal (right) in August of 2008 in Sioux Falls; 5. JCRC President Brian Kamin (pictured far left) meeting with members of the Minnesota Legislature: Pictured from left to right: Brian Kamin, State Rep. Frank Hornstein, State Sen. Sandra Pappas, State Rep. Tina Liebling, and State Rep. Steve Simon. 4. 5.
afteR 63 YeaRs JCRC Reunites HoloCaust suRvivoR and HeR ResCueR in Minnesota In September of 2008, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas had the privilege of hosting the reunion between a Holocaust survivor and a member of the family that saved her 63 years ago. Traveling from Israel, Holocaust survivor Mia Lakmaker, was reunited with her rescuer, Wilma Stienstra (maiden name Woudstra), who currently resides in Lake Crystal, Minnesota. Many groups witnessed this reunion including students, teachers, and the community at large. In 1945, 13–year–old Wilma Woudstra’s heart broke when she lost her 5–year– old “sister.” Sixty three years later, Wilma and Mia held each other tightly at the international arrivals gate of the Minneapolis–St. Paul international airport. The two women are not biological sisters but the bond they created when they met in 1942 cannot be described any other way. Mia’s mother had dropped off her 2–year–old daughter under the cover of darkness at the doorstep of the Woudstra’s home in IJlst, a small town in the northern Netherlands. Wilma recalls a lot of commotion the night Mia arrived and in the morning she had a new sister, who was happy to be amongst other children. The relationship was fulfilling for both of them since Wilma had lost a younger sister one year prior. “Why [did] I feel so attached to Mia? … She was my girl, my baby,” recalled Wilma on WCCO-TV (September 11, 2008). Wilma, 11 at the time, took care of Mia, playing with her and fulfilling all the necessary motherly duties. Wilma’s father was a factory owner and the family lived comfortably before World War II. When Nazi forces invaded the Netherlands in 1940, Mr. Woudstra joined an underground network that helped Jewish people by hiding them from the Nazis. “We were a Christian family … [and] my father thought it was horrible that the Germans rounded up Jews. Just to kill people you don’t like…”, said Wilma (Pioneer Press, September 7, 2008). Risking their personal safety, the Woudstras first took in a Jewish couple and then Mia. The townspeople knew she was not biologically related to them but managed to keep the secret from the Nazis for years. Mia recalls hiding in a cupboard and having to be completely silent during a Nazi patrol. Wilma and Mia sharing their story with students in Neil Anderson’s social studies class at South High School in Minneapolis. Wilma Stienstra (left) and Mia Lakmaker (right) speaking at St. Paul Academy and Summit School. After the war ended, an aunt of Mia took her from Wilma’s family, hoping to reunite her with her parents. Unfortunately, Mia’s parents, both in their 20s, were killed in the Nazi death camp in Sobibor, Poland. Shortly after this, Mia contracted tuberculosis and was abandoned by her aunt. Upon her recovery, some peace finally entered Mia’s life: she became a foster child to a Jewish family and eventually moved to Israel where she married and had three children. Mia, 68, currently resides in Tel-Aviv and is a grandmother of seven. Looking at old pictures, she ran across a photo of herself and a large family, which was labeled with the Woudstra name and town. Mia began her search for the family that saved her in order to thank them. She contacted a Dutch TV station that ended up doing a story on her search. The story was seen by Wilma’s brothers, who put the two in touch by phone. “I was very happy to talk with her and to say to her how much I feel for her, and say thank you for all the things you did for me,” Lakmaker said. Their reunion was organized by the JCRC with support from Mindy and Dan Ribnick and in partnership with Northwest Airlines, which donated Mia’s airfare, and WCCO-TV, which originally broke the story. The pair visited St. Paul Academy and Summit School, the Minneapolis Jewish Day School, South High School in Minneapolis, and Bet Shalom Congregation to share their story. The reunion was covered by WCCO-TV (Search “Mia Lakmaker” on www.WCCO.com) and the Pioneer Press (archived). JCRC Annual Report 2009 10
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2009 AnnuAl RepoRt - Jewish Community Relations Council ...

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