Joining hands and hearts to keep Holocaust memory alive, fighting hatred and genocide
Joining hands and hearts to keep Holocaust memory alive, fighting hatred and genocide
The World Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants is pleased to share the testimonies of a few of our founding child survivors. These testimonies were recorded by the USC ShoahFoundation established in 1994 by Steven Spielberg. More Holocaust survivor testimonies can be viewed through the Visual History Archive at the USC Shoah Foundation website, including those of survivors of genocide around the world. They continue to collect video testimonies today. Each story of survival is unique and not only documents historical events, but allows the opportunity for discussion of the genocides.
We appreciate that the USC Shoah Foundation has permitted us to share these stories of individuals who have given so much of their time to remembrance, education, and healing through the World Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants since 1988.
Rose Gelbart (née Rozia Grosman) is a member of the executive committee of the World Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants, born in 1935 in Leszno, Poland. She survived the Holocaust in a ghetto and then in hiding with her mother. She was liberated by the Russians in 1945 and came to the United States in 1951.
Max Arpels Lezer is Executive Vice President of the World Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants, born in 1936 in the Netherlands. He survived the Holocaust in hiding. He has served as president of the European Association of Jewish Survivors of the Holocaust and was granted a knighthood by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 2007. His USC Shoah Foundation interview is in the Dutch language.
Daisy Miller is a founder and Vice President of the World Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants, born in Zagreb, Yugoslavia in 1938. She survived the Holocaust in hiding in Italy and emigrated to the United States in 1951. She was president of the Child Survivor group in Los Angeles and held several positions at the USC Shoah Foundation.
Stefanie Seltzer (née Fiszman) was born in Lodz, Poland, and is a founder and president of the World Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants. Stefanie was in the Radomsko ghetto and was smuggled out and hidden in several places until reunited with her mother. They were liberated by the Russians and went back to Lodz until 1946. They arrived in the United States in 1952. Stefanie serves on the leadership committee of the Claims Conference.
Dr. Melita Svob (née Steiner) serves on the Executive Committee of the World Federation of Jewish Survivors and was born in Zagreb in 1931. She currently resides in Croatia. Her USC Shoah Foundation interview is in the Croatian language.
Agnes Vertes (née Katz) was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1940. She spent the Holocaust years with her sister in hiding with false papers and was liberated in Buda in a children’s home. She came to America in 1957. Agnes is a member of the executive committee of the World Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors.
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