Let me tell you where I was when I learned about the Iran deal: I was leaving Treblinka. My wife and I have just returned from a journey to Poland for parents of United Synagogue Youth members. We visited Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz and Lublin — with pilgrimages to the concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Majdanek and Treblinka. We visited the Polin Museum of Read more
“I think it’s fair to say,” says Géza Röhrig softly, “that we haven’t learned anything from Auschwitz. The cruelty exhibited there exists today against the Kurds and elsewhere. “You have a feeling of insecurity about tomorrow. There’s a level of chaos because global powers do not agree on the most minimal consensus.” Röhrig is the Read more
A Portuguese priest has been honoured for his wartime actions in saving of dozens of Jews during the Nazi holocaust. Fr Joaquim Carreira risked his life to save others while at a Rome pontifical college during the Second World War. A nephew of Fr Carreria, also a priest, received a medal on his behalf from Read more
An Italian film that attempts to defend Pope Pius XII over his wartime role has been criticised by Catholic and Jewish media. “Shades of Truth” is the account of a fictional present-day American journalist and critic of Pius who changes his mind after carrying out research. Some Jews have accused Pope Pius of failing to Read more
Three directors of religious studies from New Zealand Catholic schools took an opportunity in January to study the Jewish Holocaust. The Holocaust Centre of New Zealand awarded scholarships to Adele Churchman of Roncalli College in Timaru, Colin Macleod of Kavanagh College in Dunedin and Dan Stollenwerk from St Peter’s College in Auckland. The three visited Read more
An Anglican bishop in New Zealand who offended Jews and Muslims last month has lost his episcopal title. Former Bishop John Gray shocked visiting Jews in Christchurch last month when he told them the Holocaust “should have taught you a lesson”. Gray, who was head of the Maori Anglican diocese in the South Island, also Read more
Pope Francis has hinted that if he eventually retires from the papacy, he might return to live in his native Argentina. In an interview with Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia last week, the Pope was asked if he still had a room reserved in a retirement home in Buenos Aires. Pope Francis said “yes”, explaining that Read more
During the final day of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Pope Francis made an emotional visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. On May 26, the Pope kissed the hands of half a dozen Holocaust survivors and heard their stories of persecution by the Nazis. He left an inscription in the Yad Read more
In an unprecedented event, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has held a special session to commemorate St John XXIII. During the Second World War, Archbishop Angelo Roncalli’s efforts are believed to have helped save thousands of Jews from Nazi death camps Archbishop Roncalli was elected Pope in 1958 and took the name John XXIII. His pontificate Read more
They left at night, thousands of Jewish families, setting out by car, bicycle, streetcar or train. They left the Danish cities they had long called home and fled to the countryside, which was unfamiliar to many of them. Along the way, they found shelter in the homes of friends or business partners, squatted in abandoned Read more