80 years have passed since the liberation of the camps, 85 years since the outbreak of the terrible Holocaust, and it seems that youth and young men are not only interested in the horrors of the war, but also thirsty to hear more and more about the perseverance of the Holocaust victims and survivors, the spiritual heroes with mighty souls, those of pure faith and steadfast trust in G-d. The youth and young men want to learn more.
How does one explain to yeshiva students who have gone from the warmth of yeshiva surrounding their whole being into the melting pot of the labour and death camps? No one is prepared for the lofty concept of “self-sacrifice” in its highest degree, which is manifested in the lives and deaths of those who sanctified the Name of G-d, those who did not surrender but kept their G-dly essence in the days of evil and continued to meditate on the words of the Torah with devotion. They fought the Nazi devil and defeated him against all odds.
Thousands of yeshiva students heard about these people and more during Bein HaZmanim (the time between yeshiva terms) from lecturers who were trained by Ganzach Kiddush Hashem and equipped with professional and eye-catching means of documentation, who brought this wonderful history before the precious yeshiva students, from various denominations.
The lectures and seminars of Ganzach Kiddush Hashem have earned a good name in the camps and summer programs of the best “flagship yeshivas” of the charedi (ultra-Orthodox) sector, and the demand for them is increasing, while at the same time Ganzach Kiddush Hashem trains more and more lecturers and produces many sophisticated documentation tools at the highest level with one and only goal : “So that further generations will know.”
These activities are in addition to those that took place during Bein HaMetzarim (the 3 weeks between the fast days of the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha B’Av). All the departments of Ganzach Kiddush Hashem worked on this meaningful challenge of perpetuating the memory of the spiritual heroes of the Holocaust, as there is a growing interest in the period of Bein HaMetzarim among many who see the days of mourning and weeping over the destruction (of ancient Jerusalem and the First and Second Temples) as an opportunity to reflect on the more recent destruction of Jews during the Holocaust and to weep for the fire that God burned. In the days of Bein HaZmanim that followed Bein HaMetzarim, not only did the people of Ganzach Kiddush Hashem not go on vacation, but rather, out of devotion to the goal, they “charged forth” with the mighty operation of the study days in the yeshiva summer programs, until they fulfilled the demand of applicant.
Ganzach Kiddush has been revitalized in recent years and wonderful educational and documentation activity is buzzing within its walls, and much outside of them too. The plans for the construction and development of the old institution are in the final stages of being submitted to the authorities before the actual start of implementation. G-d willing, the day is not far when the stories of the victims, which is actually the stroy of all of us, will have a home where every Torah and mitzvah observant individual, and others, can visit to reflect, observe, and learn.
