| What
is the Tree-By-Tree Forest? |
|
1,500,000
Jewish children perished in the Holocaust.
Each child was an innocent victim of hate and prejudice.
Their short lives ended in fear, pain, and suffering.
We cannot let them be forgotten.
We
can learn, ask questions and seek answers.
They had names. Anne Frank. Hana Brady. Petr Ginz. Julia Hirsch.
Ivo Leo Katz. George Carter. Potyo Katz. Lutka Kowalski. Bernhard
Osterweg. Guenther Coppel.
They had dreams. Dreams that must now mingle with ours.
Dreams for a kinder world, a world safe for children.
Without discrimination. Without cruelty. Without bullies.
We have a responsibility to remember them.
A living
memorial to them is their own forest of trees,
Dedicated to these children, who have no graves anywhere in
the world.
|
 |
The vision of
the Tree-By-Tree forest is to create a living memorial for the children
who were stolen from us in the Holocaust. Though these children
vanished, the Tree-By-Tree forest aims to give them a presence in
another form of life on this earth.
The
idea for the Tree-By-Tree project was conceived on February
11, 2001, when the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education
invited all of the youth in Cincinnati for an extraordinary
and moving celebration of the Jewish New Year of the Trees,
Tu B'Shevat. At this event, the children of Cincinnati planted
a maple sapling on the grounds of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion in honor of the maple sapling that was
courageously planted in 1943 by children inside the Theresienstadt
Ghetto.
The tree planted in Theresienstadt was an act of spiritual resistance,
and a source of inspiration and hope.
The tree planted in Cincinnati was an act of commemoration,
and an impetus for action.
After this tree-planting activity in the year 2001, the Tree-By-Tree
project began. |
 |
|
Children
and families all around the world purchased trees for the
Tree-By-Tree forest. Numerous Bar and Bat Mitzvah boys and
girls contributed generously to the forest, and shared the
story of the forest with others. One by one, children took
action towards this joint goal.
|
| This
is the Certificate of Memory that is sent to everyone who contributes
to the Tree-By-Tree project. Hannah Klein from Cincinnati designed
the certificate when she was 12 years old. Hannah is named for
her great-aunt who was killed in the Holocaust at age 13. |
 |
In Summer 2005
the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education and the Jewish National
Fund announced that they are ready to begin the next steps of the
Tree-By-Tree project. Together, they are developing exciting plans
for the forest.
How Can I
Be Involved in the Continuing Tree-By-Tree Project?
Learn more about the current plans for the forest and how you can
help here.
What are
the Stories that Inspired the Tree-By-Tree Project?
Learn about Irma Lauscher, a teacher in Terezin, and Ilan Ramon,
an Israeli astronaut here.
Can I Learn
More about Children in the Holocaust?
Access relevant educational materials here.
Can I Purchase
a Tree to be Part of the Tree-By-Tree Forest?
The Tree-By-Tree forest still needs your support. Make a donation
through the JNF website
here.
|
