74 years later, on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, a picture of Tova Gotstein (86), who survived the Holocaust without her family in the forests of Poland and pictures of ten other Holocaust survivors from Rishon Lezion, is expected to live proudly in Poland, Germany, France, Ukraine and Romania. This is an international and extraordinary campaign initiated by the mayor, Raz Kinstlich, himself a grandson of Holocaust survivors, who feared the day when the survivors would not be alive and there would be no one to tell first-hand testimony. “I was very excited to take part in the project,” says Tova Gottstein, “especially in light of the fact that the campaign will also appear in Poland, the country where I experienced the worst of all.”
Ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the mayor addressed his counterparts, the twin mayors of Europe: Minster in Germany, Lublin in Poland, Brasov in Romania, Kharkiv in Ukraine, and Nim in France. In the letter, he asked them to participate in the campaign and hang signs with pictures in their cities, the names of Holocaust survivors and a trial that in their eyes is a victory. The caption of course depends on the local language where the sign was hung. It is written about Tova Gotstein: “The girl who hid in the forest – built a house of glory in Rishon Lezion.” The signs can already be seen on billboards, directions, bus stops and more around the city thanks to the impressive mobilization of all the signage companies in the city: First Look, Maximedia, Nur Star Media and Gold Streets.
At the same time, Holocaust survivors were filmed to tell their tragic story on the one hand and their victory on the other, in order to convey the message to the younger generation so that the memory of the Holocaust will never be forgotten.
Photocopy of an article about the campaign in Ukraine
Project participants:
Tzila Schusterman
Tova Gutstein (86)
She was 6 years old when the war broke out, they were in the Warsaw ghetto and after a successful uprising, managed to escape and survive alone in the forests. Her family ran away and she only met them after a few years at the Red Cross. “Some children would go into the sewer and leave the other side of the ghetto to get food, there were Poles who gave me food and helped and there were also those who threatened to betray me. My message to children is never unified and there is always a chance. I grew up without a family, but in the end I found My mother, I immigrated to Israel and raised a family. ”
Dov Guri
Ilana Klein (72)
Born in a cave in a forest where her parents hid during the Holocaust: “My message is basically” and you told your son “, soon a generation of Holocaust survivors will disappear and there will be no one to tell directly. It will be passed down from generation to generation until it disappears completely. My message is never to forget. Klein noted.
Hanan Maor
Samuel Linder
Sylvia Leibowitz
Yehudit Yerushalmi
Thorn Weintraub
Lydia Burns
Moti Miron (82)
Was 10 years old during the war. The Germans entered Hungary. Managed to escape by ferry at the last minute and find shelter in an attic of a barn, when all 232 people who failed to escape were burned alive. Meron immigrated to Israel to Rishon Lezion in 1950. “My message to the children: that you have an education, with which you can do whatever you want in life. You can travel the world. Always take responsibility for what you do and always think outside the box.”
Sagi Yehud (Brandland) for the design and creative work and for the photography: Oren Dai. All the signage companies in the city joined the unique move and assisted in the advertising areas.
Mayor, Raz Kinstlich:
“It was important to me that the younger generation and especially the children know the stories and hear the survivors. The memory of the Holocaust must be preserved, this is the basis of our existence. Unfortunately, in a few years we will no longer be Holocaust survivors The world obliges us to remember and not to forget so it is important and exciting that our twin cities in Germany, Poland, Ukraine, France and Romania have agreed to cooperate in the Holocaust survivor campaign. “