The Ghetto Fighters’ House Invites You to a Special Talking Memory Event
From Darkness to Freedom:
Honoring the 80th Anniversary of the Courageous Tunnel Escape
from the Novogrudok Ghetto
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Opening Remarks:
Lady Esther Gilbert
Patron, The Together Plan
Guest Speakers:
Dr. David Silberklang
With Limited Information: Jewish Resistance in the Ghettos
Dr. Betty Cohen
Building Upon the Ruins: The Post-war Lives of the Novogrudok Tunnel Escapees
Tamara Vershitskaya
How We Remember: Virtual Tour of the Jewish Resistance Museum in Novogrudok
Debra Brunner
The ‘Making History Together’ Project on the Holocaust in Belarus
Commemoration Ceremony:
Survivors Speak about the Legacy
Musical Piece – Sevil U. Weinstein, violinist
On September 26, 1943, about 240 Jews accomplished a daring escape from the Novogrudok (Navardok) labor camp in Belarus (White Russia) via an underground tunnel dug by the inmates over a period of several months. In this program, we will focus on this little-known escape, which, according to research carried out by Dr. Betty Cohen, was the greatest prisoner escape of Jews during the Holocaust.
We are honored to have Lady Gilbert give the opening remarks. Afterwards, Dr. Silberklang will present the broader picture of Jewish resistance in the ghettos. Dr. Betty Cohen, whose mother, Fania Dunetz Brodsky, was one of the escapees, will examine the survivors’ choice to rebuild their lives, where they did so, the legacies they left behind, and the families they created. She will also discuss her newly released book: Tunnel of Hope: Escape from the Novogrudok Forced Labor Camp, with a Forward by Prof. Yehuda Bauer. Tamara Vershitskaya, founder of the Jewish Resistance Museum in Novogrudok, will take us on a virtual tour of the exhibition. Our final speaker, Debra Brunner, CEO of the Together Plan, will discuss the organization’s work in Belarus, including the “Making History Together” project that promotes Holocaust commemoration.
Please note time zones for this program:
3 PM EST | 7 PM GMT | 8 PM CET | 9 PM Israel | 10 PM Belarus
This program is in partnership with The Together Plan, the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, Jewish Small Communities Network, Qesher, the Jewish Tapestry Project, DIALOG International Charitable Organization, Jewish Religious Union (Belarus), Classrooms Without Borders, Rabin Chair Forum George Washington University, and the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Center.
