Oak Ridge Today

Tennessee Holocaust Commission accepting student entries for 2022 contest

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Mira Kimmelman challenged students and those in her audiences to reflect upon the history of the Holocaust and contemporary examples of injustice. (Submitted photo)

“The Holocaust is a lesson in human (and inhuman) history that took place because of hate, bigotry, indifference—all characteristics that know no bounds. These traits spread like wildfire. If we remain indifferent to human suffering, it can happen again; it can happen here, and who knows who the next victims will be? Only by remembering the bitter lesson of Hitler’s legacy can we hope it will never be repeated. Teach it, tell it, read it.”—Mira Ryczke Kimmelman, “Echoes from the Holocaust”

Mira Kimmelman challenged students to reflect upon the history of the Holocaust and contemporary examples of injustice as she gave talks about her own experiences for more than 50 years, according to Larry Leibowitz, Knoxville attorney who is chair of the Tennessee Holocaust Commission.

The Mira Kimmelman “Learning from the Holocaust” Contest, established after her death in 2019, continues her legacy, a press release said. The contest invites Tennessee high school and middle school students to submit essays and projects that reflect how the lessons of the Holocaust are relevant to current events and their own lives.

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Winners of first Kimmelman ‘Learning from Holocaust’ essay contest

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Winners have been announced for the first Mira Kimmelman “Learning from the Holocaust” essay and project contest. The winners were announced by the Tennessee Holocaust Commission.

“Mira Kimmelman challenged students to reflect upon the history of the Holocaust and contemporary examples of injustice for over 50 years,” a press release said. “The contest continues her work and legacy, asking Tennessee students to create projects that reflect how the lessons of the Holocaust are relevant to current events and their own lives. The contest has both middle school and high school entry options, all of which prompt students to reflect on the lessons learned through the study of Holocaust history.”

The contest is sponsored by the Kimmelman family and the Tennessee Holocaust Commission to honor and further Mira Kimmelman’s lifelong efforts to teach children to never forget and to learn from the horrors of the Holocaust., the press release said.

The high school winners are:

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Holocaust Remembrance Program this Sunday

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Holocaust Remembrance Program 2018 Proclamation Reading (Submitted photo)

Holocaust Remembrance Day: The City of Oak Ridge has proclaimed May 5 to be Holocaust Remembrance Day for 2019.

The Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge (JCOR) and the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church (ORUUC) have partnered together to present the annual Holocaust Remembrance Program, a press release said. It will be held from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the JCOR Sanctuary, 101 West Madison Lane in Oak Ridge, on May 5. There will be a candle lighting ceremony, songs, readings, and prayers. The Holocaust Remembrance Service is sponsored by the Oak Ridge Interfaith Partnership, and the public is encouraged to attend, the press release said. [Read more…]

Obituary: Mira Ryczke Kimmelman, Holocaust survivor

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Mira Ryczke Kimmelman

Mira Ryczke Kimmelman, 95, of 969 West Outer Drive, died peacefully at home at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17.

Mira’s long and purposeful life was dotted with tragic events and redeeming joys. She was born on September 17, 1923, in the seaside resort of Zoppot, a suburb of the free City of Danzig. Her father Moritz was a grain merchant and her mother Eugenia dedicated herself to raising Mira and her younger brother Benno.

This happy life came to an abrupt end in 1939 when the Nazis invaded Danzig and drove Mira and her family from their home, first to ghettos in Warsaw and Tomaszow Mazowiecki, then to concentration camps Blizyn-Majdanek and Auschwitz, and thereafter on a horrific death march to Bergen-Belsen, where Mira was liberated and reunited with her father. Sadly, her mother and brother did not survive the Holocaust.

In 1946, she met another survivor, Max Kimmelman, who had lost his wife and daughter in the Holocaust. They married on May 19, 1946, in Germany. With the assistance of family in Cincinnati, Ohio, they were able to immigrate to the United States and arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 2, 1948.

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Holocaust Remembrance Program is Sunday in Oak Ridge

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Mira Kimmelman

Mira Kimmelman

There will be a Holocaust Remembrance Program at the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge on Sunday.

It’s presented by the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge and the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. The Holocaust Remembrance Service is sponsored by the Oak Ridge Interfaith Partnership, and the public is encouraged to attend, a press release said. The City of Oak Ridge has proclaimed April 15 to be Holocaust Remembrance Day for 2018, the press release said.

The Holocaust Remembrance Program will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. Sunday in the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge Sanctuary, which is at 101 West Madison Lane. There will be a candle lighting ceremony, songs, readings by members of both congregations, and prayers, the press release said. [Read more…]

Holocaust Remembrance program on April 23

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Mira Kimmelman

Mira Kimmelman

The City of Oak Ridge has proclaimed April 23 to be Holocaust Remembrance Day for 2017.

The Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge, or JCOR, and the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, or ORUUC, have partnered together to study the Holocaust and to conduct a Holocaust Memorial Service. The service will be held from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the JCOR Sanctuary at 101 West Madison Lane in Oak Ridge on April 23. There will be a candle lighting ceremony conducted by Mira Kimmelman, as well as song, readings, and prayers.

The Holocaust Memorial Service is a community service sponsored by the Oak Ridge Interfaith Partnership, and the public is encouraged to attend, a press release said. The Oak Ridge Interfaith Partnership is a new community organization based out of ORUUC, and it is designed to bring people from different religious backgrounds together so that the group can educate, eliminate prejudice, and build a stronger community, the press release said. [Read more…]

Holocaust survivor to speak at DOE women’s program

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Arthur Pais

Arthur Pais

Holocaust survivor Arthur Pais will speak at a program sponsored by federal workers in Oak Ridge next week.

The free Aug. 8 program is open to the public. It’s co-sponsored by the Oak Ridge Federal Women’s Program, or FWP, and the Federally Employed Women Oak Ridge Chapter.

It’s scheduled from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Aug. 8 at the American Museum of Science and Energy at 300 South Tulane Ave. in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]