MJH: A Living Memorial

By Mabel Pais

“18 Voices: A Liberation Day Reading of Young Writers’ Diaries From The Holocaust”

Liev Schreiber Joins Stars of Stage and Screen to Narrate Museum of Jewish Heritage Presentation on International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27)

Also featured: Skylar Astin, Andréa Burns, Mandy Gonzalez, Daniel Kahn, Adam  Kantor, Telly Leung, Stephanie Lynne Mason, ZalmenMlotek, Amit Rahav, Eleanor Reissa, Alexandra Silber, Abby Stein, Danny Strong, Yelena Shmulenson, Michael Zegen  –

The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust will present “18 Voices: A Liberation Day Reading of Young Writers’ Diaries From The Holocaust” (mjhnyc.org) on Wednesday, January 27 at 8:00 PM.

The virtual event commemorates International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, which is the subject of the Museum’s award-winning exhibition ‘Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.’, currently on display through May 2, 2021.

More than one million Jewish children were killed during the Holocaust and countless others survived. Some, like the well-known and widely read Anne Frank, kept diaries in which they confided their hopes, fears, and experiences.

The Museum’s presentation, narrated by Ray Donovan star and Tony Award-winner Liev Schreiber, will feature young actors and public figures reading diary excerpts.

Readers include: Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect); Andréa Burns (On Your Feet!, In the Heights, Beauty and the Beast); Mandy Gonzalez (Hamilton, Wicked, In The Heights); klezmer musician Daniel Kahn; Adam Kantor (Rent, Fiddler on the Roof); actor Telly Leung (Aladdin, Rent); Stephanie Lynne Mason (Fiddler on the Roof, Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish); ZalmenMlotek, Artistic Director of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene; Amit Rahav (Unorthodox); Eleanor Reissa (Indecent; Those Were the Days; The Plot Against America); Alexandra Silber (Fiddler on the Roof, Carousel); author and rabbi Abby Stein; Danny Strong (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gilmore Girls); Yelena Shmulenson (A Serious Man, The Good Shepherd, Orange Is the New Black); and Michael Zegen (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel).

“18 Voices: A Liberation Day Reading of Young Writers’ Diaries From The Holocaust” is curated by Alexandra Zapruder and based on her book ‘Salvaged Pages: Young Writers’ Diaries of the Holocaust.’

Watch the video – youtu.be/Tls2OO-t9es

“By giving voice to the written words of some of the Nazis’ youngest victims, the Museum honors their courage and suffering. We hope their resilient spirits will inspire our audiences,” says the Museum’s President & CEO Jack Kliger. The Museum will present the event online along with its JTube (mjhnyc.org/jtube) distribution partners around the globe.

To learn more and register to attend, visit: mjhnyc.org/events/18-voices-a-liberation-day-reading-of-young-writers-diaries-from-the-holocaust

Tickets are free with a suggested donation.

18 VOICES:A Liberation Day Reading of Young Writers’ Diaries From the Holocaust

More than one million Jewish children were killed during the Holocaust and countless others survived. Some, like Anne Frank, kept diaries in which they confided their hopes, fears, and experiences. Join us on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, for a special virtual reading of excerpts from these diaries. The excerpts will be read by actors and public figures including Liev Schreiber, Skylar Astin, Andrea Burns, Mandy Gonzalez, Daniel Kahn, Adam Kantor, Stephanie Lynn Mason, ZalmenMlotek, Amit Rahav, Eleanor Reissa, Yelena Schmulenson, Abby Stein, Danny Strong and more. The evening’s readings are curated by Alexandra Zapruder, the author of ‘Salvaged Pages: Young Writers’ Diaries of the Holocaust.’

By giving voice to the written words of some of the Nazis’ youngest victims, we will commemorate their suffering and learn from their courageous and resilient spirits. ‘18 Voices’ is curated by Alexandra Zapruder and based on her book ‘Salvaged Pages: Young Writers’ Diaries of the Holocaust.’

Watch the video – youtu.be/Tls2OO-t9es

OTHER WINTER PROGRAMS AT MJHNYC

“The 2020 year was not without hardship and challenges, but it presented our institution, like so many others, an incredible opportunity to expand our reach through the virtual realm,” says Jack Kliger, President & CEO of the Museum. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to Holocaust education and remembrance, and to celebrating the full breadth of Jewish heritage, culture, and scholarship. We were thrilled to reopen our doors to visitors in the fall of 2020 while continuing to present online programming that reached nearly 150,000 additional audience members. We are excited to grow that audience further in 2021.” The Museum offers a dynamic array of virtual programs and events to safely engage audiences unable to visit in person through the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Programs include the Museum’s streaming concert series, Live from Edmond J. Safra Hall, conversations with luminaries like architect Daniel Libeskind, author Isabel Wilkerson, and filmmaker Sal Litvak, as well as Stories Survive, a monthly series of first-person testimonies from Holocaust survivors.

Additional winter highlights include:

The Rise and Fall of the Jewish New York Accent with author EJ White (You Talkin’ To Me?), filmmaker Heather Quinlan (If These Knishes Could Talk and O Brooklyn! My Brooklyn!), and Queens College linguistics professor Michael Newman. (FEBRUARY 4)

Legacies: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who has overseen the development of the world’s first safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, will discuss his experience as the son of Holocaust survivors and how his upbringing informed his accomplished career. He will be joined in conversation by Robert Krulwich, science and technology journalist and longtime host of the double Peabody Award-winning show ‘Radiolab’. (FEBRUARY 18).

Admission to most virtual programs is complimentary with a suggested donation, except where prices are noted. For more details on these and additional Winter 2021 programs and events, visit mjhnyc.org/current-events A complete calendar of the season’s events is available on the Museum’s website at mjhnyc.org

Among the Museum’s most successful virtual programs in 2020 were its Annual ‘Gathering of Remembrance,’ held online for the very first time, and its commemoration of the 75th anniversary of World War II’s end, “We Are Here: A Celebration of Resilience, Resistance, and Hope.” In total, the Museum presented more than 106 virtual programs and events throughout the pandemic to date, reaching nearly 150,000 people.

The Museum will also continue to provide robust, educational resources that include Virtual Field Trips for school groups (one on “Life During the Holocaust” and one on “Immigration and the U.S. Experience”), an online Holocaust Curriculum with flexible lesson plans, and a downloadable podcast of first-person testimonies, ‘Those Who Were There: Voices from the Holocaust.’ Learn more at: mjhnyc.org/education

Produced in partnership with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland and the international exhibition firm Musealia and curated by an international team of experts led by historian Dr. Robert Jan van Pelt, this is the largest ever exhibition on Auschwitz. The exhibition won the Grand Prix at the 2020 European Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards, the most prestigious award of the industry.

Also on view are ‘Ordinary Treasures: Highlights from the Museum of Jewish Heritage Collection and Rendering Witness: Holocaust-Era Art as Testimony.’

 For more information, visit mjhnyc.org.

GENERAL INFORMATION

For general information, address, open hours, visits, tickets and more information, visit mjhnyc.org

About the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust

The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is New York’s contribution to the global responsibility to never forget. The Museum is committed to the crucial mission of educating diverse visitors about Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust. The third largest Holocaust museum in the world and the second largest in North America, the Museum of Jewish Heritage anchors the southernmost tip of Manhattan, completing the cultural and educational landscape it shares with the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. To learn more, visit mjhnyc.org

(Mabel Pais writes on Social Issues, The Arts and Entertainment, Spirituality, and Health & Wellness)