Helen Jonas is dedicated to several charities and organizations that help Israeli families. A member of the National Council of Jewish Women, a renowned volunteer organization, Helen serves as chairwoman for the Yad B'Yad Program (Hand-in-Hand with Israel Program). The program supports families in need by providing a wealth of services, such as new computers for schools, playgrounds for preschool centers, programs for single mothers, and assistance to victims of domestic violence.
Helen feels a deep responsibility to speak out about her history and spends the majority of her time educating students about the Holocaust. As she has done for many years, she continues to speak at various colleges, high schools and Jewish Federations, sharing her experiences in hopes of promoting tolerance and acceptance and eradicating hate.
Now retired after working as a university administrator, Monika Hertwig lives with her husband, Reinhart Hertwig, in Weissenburg, Germany, where they are raising their young grandson, David. She continues her efforts to educate young people about the history of the Holocaust.
In November 2008, Monika wrote:
After the filming of Inheritance, I made another trip to Poland, this time with my grandson, David, and my husbandm Reiner. We went to Krakow, Plaszow and Auschwitz. We told David that Auschwitz is a big Jewish cemetery. We also went with him to the old synagogue of Kasimierz. In Berlin, we showed David the Jewish Museum and the synagogue.
Six weeks later I went to Poland yet again, this time with a group of Israeli students, teachers and Holocaust survivors. One of the survivors was Jan, who was a survivor of Plaszow.
We went to several places: Plaszow, Krakow, Schindler's factory, the ghetto of Lodz, Sdunska Wola, Warschau, Tykocin, Radegast, Lopuchowo, Treblinka, Majdanek, Tarnow and Zakopane. We visited the orphanage of Dr. Korzak in Warschau.
You could not ignore the reality of anti-Semitism in Poland. You could feel it. Most disturbing is the attempt to instrumentalize Auschwitz, a tendency towards Christianization of the site of Auschwitz-Birkenau. We also spent time at the graves of some famous rabbis. Every foreigner mainly sees the absence of Jews and death graveyards in Poland. Behind almost every little village, there is a mass grave with Jewish victims.
The archive in Ludwigsburg was very interesting, because you can find everthing about Plaszow. But Jan knows much more about living in the camp.
Of course, I went to some schools to be in a dialogue with children. Children are interested in history, but the German Education Administration seems to want to reduce history lessons about this time period.
With a team from a German television station, I went to the Dachau Concentration Camp.
Later I went to this camp with a television group from Korea. We met there Dr. Max Mannheimer, the former president of the camp, and also a victim of Auschwitz and Dachau. He also had a "meeting" with Amon [Goeth].
A biography of Amon has since been published in Austria, and I tried to help the author with some information.
Last week, I did an interview with an Israeli film group here in my hometown of Weissenburg.
Next year I am invited to a meeting of the German Protestant church in Bremen with one of the chief public prosecutors in the Eichmann process, Gebriel Bach of Jerusalem.
Monika Hertwig
November 28, 2008
In June 2007, Monika and Helen appeared together on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Talk About This
I have watched his documentary twice and it is very moving and emotional. I am not jewish -- in fact I am a Cuban American but I have purchased the dvd so that I can share it with my grandchildren as it is important that we keep educating our future generations. My warm regards go to Monika and Helen and the producer of this marvelous documentary.
by Olga Corpion
June 7, 2009, 11:07 PM
The wake of the Holocaust is still sending its cold ripples across humanity. While some want to deny or forget, all they have to do is realize they still stand in these flood waters. We all have wet feet; unfortunately, some are also still creating more floods (Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur and many more.) Never stop telling about these events- maybe someone will listen and learn.
by B. Ryan
June 7, 2009, 11:08 PM
What we now call The Holocaust is one of the largest and most mechanized of genocides. The sheer scope and length of time during which it was perpetrated is staggering to the imagination, though every individual who has lived through a period of genocide against his or her own people lives the same horror on a personal scale. The Holocaust frightens and sickens and repels us, and yet, humanity continues to see genocides being perpetrated in our time and continues to be slow to respond and stop them, as though smaller, less widespread and technological efforts to commit genocide are somehow more bearable. Sovereignty, borders, putting our own people in harms way to protect "the other," these things intercede and we debate politely while genocides proceed.
I'm at a loss to suggest a solution for racial or cultural or religious hatred, or for murderous ambition and criminal governments. I hope people wiser than I can one day figure this out and stop it -- one day soon.
by PG OBrien
June 8, 2009, 10:39 AM
speechless. thank you, helen. thank you, monika. G-d bless you both as you continue to speak out about the evil of the Shoah and the great, unnecessary suffering that was forced on is victims and their loved ones. you know, i can see one crackpot hate-filled power hungry person like hitler, but what blows my mind is that he was able to influence many thousands of people to join him in his wicked, murderous campaign against an innocent people. G-d help us all. Never Again!
shalom
by r wright
June 9, 2009, 2:08 PM
Monika Hertwig
I would like to make contact with Mrs Monika Hertwig
by Arik Bender from Jerusalem, Israel
September 10, 2009, 3:55 AM
Thank you
I am a son of a survivor. My father passed away two years ago. He was not in this camp. He lost his entire family. It was difficult to watch this film, but I am grateful that I did.
by leor from Atlanta, GA
October 5, 2009, 8:21 PM