Tags: Holocaust survivors

Food for Thought – 3GNY’s Recipes Remembered Event

In April of 2011 I received an email from the Museum of Jewish Heritage about a new book that they were publishing, called “Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival.” This book, a compilation of recipes from Holocaust survivors, including stories about food memories and families, is published by Ruder Finn Press, with all proceeds benefiting the Museum of Jewish Heritage. The recipes in the book are from Holocaust survivors from Poland, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and Greece.  At first glance, I knew this would be the perfect Mothers’ day gift for my mom, an active 2G and a lover of recipes, stories and especially books. I even considered purchasing a book for my grandmother, but then decided that the book would be wonderful for my mother and grandmother to share and read together. My mom was thrilled upon receiving it, and when she shared it with my grandmother, the first place my grandmother looked was in the index of the book to see if any of the stories were from her hometown in Poland. Reminiscing about fond memories of familiar recipes across generations, from granddaughter (3G) to mother (2G) to grandmother (survivor) is intergenerational bonding at its best.

3GNY is hosting a book talk and cooking demonstration event this Thursday, March 29 at the Jewish Museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, featuring the book’s author, June Hersh. This looks like it will be a special event, and I plan to attend with my mom. She is bringing her copy of the book for the author to sign.

Food for Thought: Recipes Remembered Book Talk and Cooking Demonstration

Featuring June Hersh, author of Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival

Thursday, March 29, 2012, 6:30 p.m.

The Jewish Museum
Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street
New York City

Event ticket: $36 per person — Purchase Event Ticket HERE

Event ticket + advanced purchase of Recipes Remembered book: $72 per person — 
Purchase Event Ticket + Book HERE

The books purchased in advance will be available for pickup at the event, and books will also be on sale at the event. June will be autographing the books that evening. Proceeds from book sales benefit the Museum of Jewish Heritage and 3GNY.

Join us for a delicious and lively evening focused on food and storytelling with June Hersh, author of Recipes Remembered, A Celebration of Survival. June will discuss her book, including some of the stories, and then there will be a Q&A. Her presentation is tailored specifically for the 3G audience, so this is a special opportunity exclusively for our group.

After we hear from June, Executive Chef David Teyf of LOX at the Jewish Museum will show us how to prepare some recipes from and inspired by June’s book. Then, of course, we’ll eat!

Recipes Remembered is a cookbook and collection of stories wrapped into one. To create it, June personally interviewed over 80 Holocaust survivors and their families. Along the way, she discovered remarkable and uplifting stories of strength and resilience. The recipes in the book are authentic and include culinary creations from all around the world. To learn more about June and her book, visit JuneHersh.com, or view a great Fox News interview from December 2011.

Space is limited, and we expect this event to sell out. We look forward to seeing you.

For more information, please e-mail info@3gnewyork.org or visit www.3gnewyork.org.

Dietary laws observed

Therapy for 3Gs

From what I understand, many Holocaust survivors themselves did not seek therapy after arriving in the United States. The goal was making a semblance of a normal life as part of society again. The wounds were too fresh, and the focus was on building a family and settling into a new, foreign city.  The trauma they experienced was either suppressed or passed on directly or indirectly to their children, the second generation (2Gs).  2Gs faced the brunt of the effects of the Holocaust from their survivor parents, and the 3Gs, although a generation removed from the survivors, face their own set of issues that can be dealt with in therapy. The third generation has sought a community and other 3Gs to relate to – and local organizations such as Boston 3G, 3GDC and 3GNY provide forums for 3Gs explore these psychological effects of the Holocaust with professionals.

Dr. Rivka Bekerman-Greenberg, Ph.D., is a psychoanalyst that specializes in, among other things, the transmission of trauma across generations in families of Holocaust survivors. She is hosting a therapy group specific to the third generation in New York City, to get involved and learn more, please see below:

“From Surviving to Thriving” – a therapy group for grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, is now meeting on a regular basis on Tuesdays between 7:30-9 PM. This group experience is aimed at exploring in a safe therapeutic setting the impact of the Holocaust on love, work, resilience and creativity.

Rivka Bekerman-Greenberg, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist/psychoanalyst, and a 2G, in private practice in NYC and a supervisor and faculty member at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy.  She was on the faculty of the Mount Sinai Traumatic Stress Treatment Center, which offered group therapy for survivors and their children.

Dr. Bekerman-Greenberg wrote a play “Eavesdropping on Dreams” about three generations in a family of a Holocaust survivor, to be produced at the Cherry Lane Theater in NYC between April 20 – May 20, 2012.  She has also produced a documentary: “I am Carrying the Holocaust in my Pocket”- interviews with four granddaughters of survivors.

For any further questions please contact:

Rivka Bekerman-Greenberg, Ph.D
Clinical Psychologist/psychoanalyst
350 West 57th Street, Apt. 3A
New York, NY 10019
Tel: (212) 459-9060
E-Mail: rivkagreenberg@nyc.rr.com