This year marked the first year of the Milton and Marsha Kleinberg Scholarship. The theme of the scholarship revolves around child survivors of the Holocaust, and applicants were required to write an essay based on any non-fiction book about a child who experienced the Holocaust. We are pleased to announce that this year’s winner is Bryant Grimminger who will be a Senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln this Fall. Congratulations Bryant!
(1943) July 8 – During the Nazi occupation of France, Resistance leader Jean Moulin died following his arrest and subsequent torture by the Gestapo. He had been sent by the Allies into France in 1942 to unite the fledgling Underground movement. In June of 1943, he was arrested in Lyon, tortured for eleven days but betrayed no one. He died aboard a train while being transferred to a concentration camp.
(1943) July 10 – The Allied invasion of Italy began with an attack on the island of Sicily. The British entry into Syracuse was the first Allied success in Europe. General Dwight D. Eisenhower labeled the invasion “the first page in the liberation of the European Continent.”
(1943) July 12 – During World War II, in the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history took place outside the small village of Prohorovka, Russia. About nine hundred Russian tanks attacked an equal number of German tanks fighting at close range. When Hitler ordered a cease-fire, 300 German tanks remained strewn over the battlefield.
(1943) July 25 – Mussolini was deposed just two weeks after the Allied attack on Sicily. The Fascist Grand Council met for the first time since December of 1939 then took a confidence vote resulting in Mussolini being ousted from office and placed under arrest. King Victor Emmanuel of Italy then ordered Marshal Pietro Badoglio to form a new government.
Yesterday, Milt had the pleasure of speaking in front of over 60 North Bend residents at the North Bend Public Library. The attendance, young and old, were captivated by Milt’s amazing story. We would like to express our appreciation to the ladies at the library for setting up all the equipment and to all those in attendance for being such a great audience.
This is a reminder that Milt will be giving a presentation at the North Bend Public Library in North Bend, NE on Wednesday June 29th at 6:30pm. Don’t miss out!
The address is: 110 East 13th Street, North Bend, NE 68649
You can find directions here.
A few months back, we mentioned another important Holocaust book called Tunnel, Smuggle, Collect: A Holocaust Boy, which tells the story of how Sam Gingold and his family struggled to survive and escape the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland.
Milton and Sam are actually childhood friends who have stayed in contact to this day, and the book was written by Sam’s son Jeffrey Gingold.
We are very happy and proud to announce that Tunnel, Smuggle, Collect: A Holocaust Boy was recently given an award for Biography by the Midwest Independent Publishers Association.
You can still purchase this amazing story here.
In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened on June 14th in 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. The United States Army also celebrates the Army Birthday on this date; Congress adopted “the American continental army” after reaching a consensus position in the Committee of the Whole on June 14, 1775.
Shavuot, known as the Feast of Weeks in English and as Pentecost (Πεντηκοστή) in Ancient Greek, is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan (may fall between 14 May-15 June).
Shavuot has a double significance. It marks the all-important wheat harvest in the Land of Israel (Exodus 34:22); and it commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to the entire nation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai.
The holiday is one of the Shalosh Regalim, the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals. It marks the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer, and its date is directly linked to that of Passover. The Torah mandates the seven-week Counting of the Omer, beginning on the second day of Passover, to be immediately followed by Shavuot. This counting of days and weeks is understood to express anticipation and desire for the giving of the Torah. On Passover, the people of Israel were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh; on Shavuot they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God. The word Shavuot means weeks, and the festival of Shavuot marks the completion of the seven-week counting period between Passover and Shavuot.
Shavuot is one of the less familiar Jewish holidays to secular Jews in the Jewish diaspora, while those in Israel as well as the Orthodox community are more aware of it. According to Jewish law, Shavuot is celebrated in Israel for one day and in the Diaspora (outside of Israel) for two days. Reform Judaism celebrates only one day, even in the Diaspora.
Milt recently had the opportunity to speak to a seniors’ group at Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE. Generally, Milt tends to speak to a younger audience, but he was more than happy to take the opportunity to speak before an older crowd who could also share some their own memories of the war and that time in history. Milt would like to again offer his thanks to the church for inviting him.
Jerusalem Day (Hebrew: יום ירושלים, Yom Yerushalayim) is an Israeli national holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in the aftermath of the June 1967 Six-Day War. The day is officially marked by state ceremonies and memorial services. While the day is not widely celebrated outside Israel, and has lost its significance for most secular Israelis, the day is still very much celebrated by Israel’s Religious Zionist community with parades and additional prayers in the synagogue. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared Jerusalem Day a minor religious holiday to mark the regaining of access to the Western Wall.
Last month, while visiting family, Milt was invited to speak at the Dekel Synagogue in Efrat, Israel. He was very well received as many people attended the event, including the Mayor who had this to say:
Bread Or Death Book 