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27/11/2019
AJR Unveils Blue Plaque for Cosman and Keller in Hampstead, London
We are delighted to announce the unveiling of a commemorative plaque in honour of artist and illustrator, Milein Cosman and musician and writer, Hans Keller on Monday 25 November 2019. Guests at the ceremony included Milein and Hans’ niece Ena Blyth, as well as current owners of the home, Philippe Sands and Natalia Schiffrin. Dignitaries included His Excellency The Austrian Ambassador Michael Zimmermann and Head of the Cultural section at the German embassy Ralf Teepe. Milein Cosman was born into a Jewish family in 1921 and grew up in Düsseldorf, attended school in Switzerland and moved to England in 1939 to attend the Slade School of Fine Art in Oxford. On moving to London in 1945 she established herself as a freelance artist, working for the Radio Times and various other national and international publications. In 1947 she started to work for the Radio Times where she met and later...
13/11/2019
LAUNCHING THE AJR REFUGEE VOICES TESTIMONY ARCHIVE
The launch of the AJR REFUGEE VOICES TESTIMONY ARCHIVE, a ground-breaking collection of Holocaust oral histories took place last week at the Wiener Holocaust Library to coincide with the 81st anniversary of the Kristallnacht. A group of notable speakers included Kindertransportee from Cologne, Kurt Marx, and Lord Daniel Finkelstein and Tamara Finkelstein, whose mother Mirjam survived Bergen-Belsen and whose testimony was recorded for the Refugee Voices Archive in 2006. Ahead of the event, a press conference was held where media had the opportunity to meet with interviewees who shared their story with the Refugee Voices Archive. Refugee Voices interviewees included; Ann and Bob Kirk, Freddy Kosten, Eve Willman, Jackie Young, Kurt Marx and Lilian Levy. Kurt Marx recalls why he was so willing to take part in this project, “By telling my story, I wanted to raise awareness of the fate of my parents who were deported to Minsk and...
13/11/2019
COMMEMORATING THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE KRISTALLNACHT AT BELSIZE SQUARE SYNAGOGUE
The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) recently commemorated the anniversary of the Kristallnacht at Belsize Square Synagogue, London. The event was attended by members, trustees, and various dignitaries. The ceremony which took place on Thursday 7th November 2019 was officiated by Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg. Following a welcome by AJR Chief Executive Michael Newman, Kindertransportee Eli Abt gave an account of his memories of Kristallnacht, his trip on the Kindertransport and life in Britain. Dr Clare Weissenberg who heads the Kitchener Descendants Group gave some insight into what life was like for the men coming over to the UK and how they dealt with leaving their families and starting a new life in a foreign company. Dr Toby Simpson, Director of the Wiener Holocaust Library shared that they hold a large number of physical and online documents from this period depicting some very strong views of that time. AJR members, and...
04/11/2019
REMEMBERING THE KRISTALLNACHT BY KEEPING A LIGHT ON
Eight decades on, the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) continues to commemorate the events of the Kristallnacht. Following on from the 80th anniversary and the United Synagogue's ‘Leave a Light On’ initiative last year, the AJR once again encourages the illumination of synagogues and households on the night of the 9th November to remember the Kristallnacht. AJR Chief Executive, Michael Newman stated, “We place great effort on ensuring that key dates in the Jewish calendar, like the anniversary of the Kristallnacht, are remembered and that future generations are informed about the atrocities committed in the hope that they will never happen again. By building on the success of last year’s ‘Leave a Light On’ initiative, we believe the AJR is in a unique position to further create awareness through remembrance in the Jewish community, while encouraging support from non-Jewish organisations that would like to stand together with us on the...
23/10/2019
AJR Second Generation Survey
Calling all Second Generation. Tell us what you would like from The AJR! Over one-third of AJR's membership identifies as second generation of survivors and refugees from Nazi-persecution. Now we are looking to develop specific services and areas of interest to appeal to both existing Second Generation (2G) members and also to attract new members. Please fill in our survey (whether you are currently a member of AJR or not) to help us provide what you would like. We promise it will only take five minutes of your time! You can access the survey here. Please pass the message on to other Second Generation friends and family members in the UK. Here are some of the ideas we would like to ask you about. Which of them appeal to you? Social activities (with other Second Generation) such as coffee mornings, card and games evenings, outings etc. Cultural activities to celebrate...