American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants
Encyclopedia
The American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants is the foremost umbrella organization of survivors located in North America
with a mission to advocate for survivors and to advance and encourage Holocaust remembrance, education and commemoration. It is located in New York City
and its chief officers are Sam E. Bloch (President), Roman Kent (Chairman) and Max Liebmann (Senior Vice President).
There is also an executive committee and a national council listed on the group's website at amgathering.org
As part of its mission, the American Gathering maintains a number of ongoing projects:
, the Registry, the only one of its kind, was moved in 1993 to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
(USHMM). Along with the Museum, the American Gathering continues to manage the database and to seek new registrants via its quarterly newspaper Together and its website, amgathering.org among other venues. As a result of the American Gathering's efforts, the Registry now includes over 200,000 records related to survivors and their families and is a resource for Holocaust historians and scholars, as well as families looking for lost relatives.
and to Israel
. Participating scholars come from Yad Vashem
in Jerusalem, the Study Center at Kibbutz Lohamei HaGeta'ot, and the USHMM in Washington, D.C. A biannual Alumni Conference of the program's participants further reinforces its goals to foster remembrance and toleration.
The Gathering is a member of other organizations such as the World Jewish Congress
, the World Jewish Restitution Organization, the JCRC and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. In that capacity, its mission is to use its moral authority to influence issues of importance to the survivor community and to the world Jewish community.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
with a mission to advocate for survivors and to advance and encourage Holocaust remembrance, education and commemoration. It is located in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and its chief officers are Sam E. Bloch (President), Roman Kent (Chairman) and Max Liebmann (Senior Vice President).
There is also an executive committee and a national council listed on the group's website at amgathering.org
As part of its mission, the American Gathering maintains a number of ongoing projects:
Conference on Jewish material claims against Germany
The American Gathering is a key member of the Board of Directors. With the present negotiating committee composed solely of survivors and chaired by the American Gathering's chairman Roman Kent, hundreds of millions of additional dollars are coming from Germany to better provide for current health care and assistance to survivors in desperate need.Meed Registry of Jewish Holocaust survivors
Established in 1981 to document the names of survivors who came to the Americas after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Registry, the only one of its kind, was moved in 1993 to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
(USHMM). Along with the Museum, the American Gathering continues to manage the database and to seek new registrants via its quarterly newspaper Together and its website, amgathering.org among other venues. As a result of the American Gathering's efforts, the Registry now includes over 200,000 records related to survivors and their families and is a resource for Holocaust historians and scholars, as well as families looking for lost relatives.
Summer seminar program on Holocaust and Jewish resistance
Initiated in 1984 by Vladka Meed and jointly administered by the American Gathering and the USHMM, this program takes middle school and high school teachers, both Jewish and non-Jewish alike, on trips to Holocaust sites in PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Participating scholars come from Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
in Jerusalem, the Study Center at Kibbutz Lohamei HaGeta'ot, and the USHMM in Washington, D.C. A biannual Alumni Conference of the program's participants further reinforces its goals to foster remembrance and toleration.
Together
Founded in 1985, Together is the official publication of the American Gathering. With a circulation of approximately 85,000, it reflects the collective voice of survivors, the second and third generations, and includes news, opinions, information on education, commemorations, events, book reviews, announcements, searches, and articles on history and personal remembrance. Contributors include professional writers, poets, thinkers, historians and Holocaust scholars.The Gathering is a member of other organizations such as the World Jewish Congress
World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations...
, the World Jewish Restitution Organization, the JCRC and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. In that capacity, its mission is to use its moral authority to influence issues of importance to the survivor community and to the world Jewish community.
Community outreach
The American Gathering actively assists survivors on a daily basis. Whether it is through sitting on the Claims Conference, Self-Help Boards, manning an office to offer information, applications for assistance or interfacing with other related agencies on behalf of survivors, the American Gathering does its utmost to ensure that survivor issues are addressed.National Holocaust commemorations and memorials
The collective and individual initiatives of the American Gathering leadership has fostered Holocaust commemoration, remembrance events and the establishment of Holocaust memorials in many communities throughout the United States and in almost every State House in the Union. While the American Gathering continues to sponsor its own annual commemoration program with the Museum of Jewish Heritage and WAGRO, it has been instrumental in the creation of the ongoing Holocaust programs at both the United Nations and the U.S. Congress.Interfaith issues
Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, demanded not to rehabiliate bishop Richard Williamson, known for his denialism of the Shoah.External links
- amgathering.org - official site