Bringing a Holocaust Survivor back to Görlitz

Website: www.jrwgoerlitz.com

www.dai-sachsen.de/goerlitz/

Refugee crises still majorly affect our world today. There are many examples in the world of refugees coming together within the country they fled to: reconnecting, finding empathy and understanding in each other through their mutual extreme experience. There are many examples in Germany of Jewish refugees coming back to Germany- the land from which these people were forcibly expelled. Such occasions are normally organized as conferences in big cities such as Munich, Berlin, or Frankfurt. These conferences consist of German Jewish refugees (and their descendants) originally coming from many different German states- the thing connecting them at these conferences being their "broad" background as German Jews. Very often, individual families will come back to see their family's memory honored at a stolperstein laying. However, most often these events are individual families coming alone to the city from which they were forcibly expelled.

What makes Jewish Remembrance Week Görlitz/Zgorzelec truly something special, is that we are literally bringing together, PIECING BACK together a Jewish community that was destroyed INSIDE the city that they were FORCED to flee. Each of these international people coming from all over the world (every continent but Antarctica) are connected by this same, small German city: Görlitz. For these descendants participating in JRW, their parents and grandparents knew each other; were friends with each other; helped create elements of Görlitz together that still exist to this day in the city. These descendants bring with them their own photos, their own stories, and by connecting with other descendants, they quickly learn that in their own stories and photos they find the story of a fellow descendant- often someone they did not know existed until being connected to each other by me, Lauren Leiderman- a young American woman married to a Jewish man, randomly living in this small random town on the Polish border.

To my knowledge, Jewish Remembrance Week Görlitz/Zgorzelec is one of only a few programs in Germany to bring back multiple refugee families at the same time back to the city they were expelled from for a commemorative event in Germany. The benefits of having so many descendants here in Görlitz is also a huge gift to the many schools and citizens here- very often these descendants are the first Jewish person they might have ever met. Work like this in Görlitz is critical. Görlitz very often only makes international news because of its high association with the far-right extremism. Jewish Remembrance Week helps give young people a view as to how truly international Görlitz and Zgorzelec are through its Jewish Heritage and story. A huge hope of the week for me personally is that friendships are formed that might just change the perspectives of younger people (and older) living in Görlitz and Zgorzelec.

Together with my dear friend Eric Fraunholz (Executive Director

Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut Sachsen e.V. and fellow organizer of Jewish Remembrance Week Görlitz/Zgorzelec), we are seeking to raise money in the amount of around €15,000 to help pay for the airfare for Renate and 5 South American Jewish descendants from Görlitz:

Renate Muhr Langeani of Brazil (Holocaust Survivor born and raised in Görlitz and one of only 7 still alive today)

Claudia Langeani of Brazil- the daughter of Renate Muhr

Patrizia Fränkel of Argentina- a member of the Görlitz Fränkel Family and daughter of holocaust survivors from Görlitz

Dr. Alfredo Schwarcz- husband of Patrizia and a world expert on the subject of Jewish Diapsora in Argentina

Joyce Muhr of Brazil- daughter of Ernst Muhr (brother of Renate)

Vera Feldmann of Argentina- member of the Görlitz Feldmann Family and daughter of holocaust survivors from Görlitz

We are trying to raise this money as soon as possible because the Remembrance Week itself is in June 2023 (VERY SOON!). We have descendants coming or who would like to come from every continent excluding Antarctica. The ones who need our help the most in this economic climate are our members in South America. We write to each of you on behalf of the South American “Görlitz Cousins” as we call ourselves.

If you give us your support, we will thank you in kind with full sponsorship honors at our events.

We would be very eager to talk to you more about this if you have the time and interest. We cannot thank you enough for taking the time to visit our page and to hear our plea.

With immense gratitude,

Lauren Leiderman & Eric Fraunholz

JRW Görlitz/Zgorzlec & D.A.I.-Sachsen