Holocaust Children in Sweden
The 'Holocaust Children in Sweden' association was formed in March 1998. Anyone of Jewish origin born between 1926 and 1945 can become a member. The purposes of the association are to provide support in various forms for its members; to spread and advance knowledge of Nazi crimes, especially those against children and young people of Jewish descent, during the second world war; to preserve and consolidate the memory of the Holocaust victims and those who risked their own lives in trying to save the persecuted; and to combat all forms of intolerance.
During the 1990s, awareness of the Holocaust children as a homogeneous group emerged and grew all over the world. Organizations to bring these people together were formed in many countries. Jewish children who survived the Holocaust were usually kept hidden and many lived under false identities, in constant fear of detection. These children have never belonged to a 'generation'. The adults who survived have been known as the 'first generation' and their children as the 'second generation', but the children who survived - who were in the midst of it all, whose parents were often murdered but who themselves miraculously survived - have hitherto been neither seen nor heard. Nowadays, there are some 100 residents of Sweden who can be assigned to this group. We are few, and our number is decreasing.
Today, the association's members need contact with one another and an opportunity to meet regularly and join in discussions with others who have had similar traumatic experiences.
Our members visit schools and other organizations to talk about the Holocaust, try to convey our own experiences, and tell people how dangerous all forms of intolerance, and ignorance of history, can be. This applies to the history of one's own country as well as bitter past experience worldwide. We connect the past with what is happening around us now in Sweden and the world.
Eventually, we wish to document our life histories and describe our childhood perceptions of evil.
For further information:
Gabryela Bromberg, Kummingatan 39A, SE-754 48 Uppsala, Sweden
Tel/Fax: +46-18-251 461
Irena Cynkier, Blomgatan 4E, SE-752 31 Uppsala, Sweden
Tel: +46-18-515 644.
Marian Wroblewski, Sarvstigen 8, SE-181 30 Lidingö, Sweden
Tel: +46-8-767 4258, Fax: +46-8-767 8117.