RECALLING THE HOLOCAUST DAY OF LAMENT STRENGTHENS RESOLVE TO FIGHT PREJUDICE.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer Dora Bascman was barely 18 when Nazis stormed her small Polish village to round up her Jewish family for death camps and ammunition factories. Only she survived. ``My parents, my five brothers, my sister, my aunts, uncles, cousins, all gone, they're all gone, nobody,'' Bascman, 80, said Sunday as she stood outside the Holocaust Monument in West Los Angeles
``To be alive, thank God,'' added her husband, Samuel, 84, of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , a Holocaust survivor and grandfather of four. ``To be here, to be alive, I'm happy, I'm happy.'' It was a day of sadness and a day of joy as Jews and gentiles from across Los Angeles gathered to lament one of the greatest horrors in modern history. ``Never again,'' intoned in·tone v. in·toned, in·ton·ing, in·tones v.tr. 1. To recite in a singing tone. 2. To utter in a monotone. v.intr. 1. speaker after speaker - from congressmen to ambassadors to governors to mayors during ceremonies at Pan Pacific Park. Never again shall a nation like Nazi Germany kill 6 million Jews - or any other group - out of prejudice and hate. Never again should nations, particularly those of Europe, shun the nation of Israel during a new wave of anti-Semitism. And never again would Jewish children recall the bitter cruelty of the Holocaust without summoning the sweetness of a generation lost. ``Only when we have placed in the hearts of our children and our grandchildren 6 million dreams, 6 million memories, 6 million-million measures of passion and truth and wisdom, will they have peace, and will we know that we have finally won, that Hitler has finally lost,'' said Rabbi Edward Feinstein of Valley Beth Shalom Valley Beth Shalom is a Conservative Synagogue in Encino, Los Angeles, California. With over 1,800 member families[1] it is one of the largest synagogues in Los Angeles and one of the largest Conservative synagogues in the United States. Synagogue in Encino. A cellist played a somber tribute, his song undulating to the flapping of nearly 50 Israeli flags. An estimated 3,000 people gathered around a blue-and-white tent to hear such speakers as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] , a supporter of the Holocaust memorial who has paid for a probe into his father's Nazi past. Crimes against the Jewish people are crimes against humanity, Schwarzenegger declared, including those of his native Austria. ``On this day of Yom ha-Shoah, we remember all those who died, and we accept the Holocaust as a symbol of duty and responsibility to prevent such travesties from ever happening again.'' Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos Thomas Peter "Tom" Lantos, Ph.D (born February 1 1928, Budapest, Hungary as Lantos Tamás Péter) has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1981, representing California's 12th congressional district, located in the southwest part of San , D-San Mateo, defended Israel's assassination Assassination See also Murder. assassins Fanatical Moslem sect that smoked hashish and murdered Crusaders (11th—12th centuries). [Islamic Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 52] Brutus conspirator and assassin of Julius Caesar. [Br. of a militant Hamas leader Saturday, saying Israel has a right to defend itself. He also blasted the apparent rise of anti-Semitism in Europe. ``People are perfectly prepared to commemorate the Holocaust,'' Lantos said. ``But they won't recognize our right to prevent the next Holocaust.'' Also present were state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi John Raymond Garamendi (born January 24, 1945) is a U.S. politician and a member of the Democratic Party. He became the 46th Lieutenant Governor of California on January 8 2007. , Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn For the Iowa politician, see . James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He was the Deputy City Attorney (1975-1979), City Controller (1981-1985), City Attorney (1985-2001) and Mayor of Los Angeles, California and local officials and numerous ambassadors, including those of Israel and Hungary, whose invasion by Nazis 60 years ago cost the lives of 600,000 Jews. Of 7,000 Holocaust-related insurance claims in California, only 172 have been paid, Garamendi said. ``This is disgusting,'' he said. ``We must do better. It is not just a matter of justice. It is a matter of what is basically right.'' Following the war, Dora and Samuel Bascman met at a refugee camp in Germany. They soon moved to America, where Samuel worked for 75 cents an hour at a factory warehouse. They couldn't afford a car for three years, a telephone for five. But they prospered. And now they are among the last Holocaust survivors There are many famous Holocaust survivors who survived the Nazi genocides in Europe and went on to achievements of great fame and notability. Those listed here were, at the very least, residents of the parts of Europe occupied by the Axis powers during World War II who survived to attend the Yom ha-Shoah tributes. ``I don't want them to forget,'' said Dora Bascman. ``Every year, they have come to remember because our people die.'' Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) Above, Max Wozniak, who escaped Nazi Germany in 1939, reads the Holocaust memorial before the Yom ha-Shoah commemoration on Sunday. Below, Sarah Taieb and Mike Perez Mike Perez (born October 19, 1964 in Yauco, Puerto Rico), is a retired professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1990-1997. Teams
(3 -- color) At the Pan Pacific Park monument, Betty Heimfeld, a Holocaust survivor, lights a candle for family members she lost. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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