Last night I attended the annual Holocaust program jointly sponsored by Jewish Nevada, the Governor’s Council on Holocaust Education, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, the Sanford Center for Aging, and the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.

Frankly, I did not want to go. I am, like most Jews, very well versed in the horrors of the Shoah, and every event serves to wrench my gut, hurt my heart, and bring tears to my eyes that linger for days. I have visited Holocaust Museums in Washington, D.C, Paris, Amsterdam, and Israel. I lived and worked on Kibbutz Yakum in Israel, not that far from the horrific massacres on October 7, 2023. I have had enough reminders.

But, I was “encouraged” to go by our own Jan Carver, who rightly said, that as President of Temple Emanu-El, I needed to be there. I solemnly dressed including nylons and high heels, to show my respect for the program, the topic, the gathering, my congregation, and, of course, the history.

It was an amazing program. As it turns out, the main theme of the program was not so much about the horrors of the Shoah itself, but more about the aftermath effects. The world shuddered in horror, shame and disbelief, but the impact on the survivors, and, as it turns out, their offspring, was fascinating and worthy of a continuing story.

Judy Shumer started the program with stories and pictures of survivors who went on to have amazing lives, lives filled with, accomplishment, family, and even joy. Not what I had expected to hear. This was her preview of our speaker, who has made it his mission to follow the impact of these survivors’ lives on the next generations. I had a girlfriend Leah, both of whose parents were survivors, and she would tell me of their nightly nightmares and screaming, and the tense, intense quiet during other times. That’s what I expected to hear. Imagine my surprise when Dr. Harold Koplewicz, himself a child of two survivors, discussed his research and work.

It appears that early childhood trauma can actually change certain genetic cells in our bodies and these alterations can be passed on to future generations. I studied psychology as an undergraduate and particularly enjoyed learning about personality development. That, of course, includes children. We always suspected that early trauma had lasting effects, and that brain chemistry might be altered from it. His research in this field called epigenetics found just such an alteration. Interestingly, epigenetics is the study not only of genetics, but also of the impact of environment on the expression of the genes. Children with these genetic alterations, brought up in homes like that of my friend Leah, might have some of the same responses to stress and fear as their parents. But here is the interesting part. This genetic alteration also includes a certain resilience, because these people survived. They continued on. Some made amazing lives for themselves.

This is where the second part of the program title comes in: HOPE. According to Dr. Koplewicz, where there is trauma, there can also be hope. Where there is resilience, there are possibilities for good and meaningful aftermaths.

I had not expected to hear that. I had only seen the bad effects, not the good and hopeful ones. While still catching my breath from his talk, our own Eliot Malin gave a short, heartful presentation, and then Judy Shumer had survivors in our audience, along with their children and grandchildren, light six candles to commemorate the six different stars Jews were forced to wear in different countries. They added a seventh candle, lit by and commemorating non-Jews who had helped protect and save Jews during that time, to their own peril. If I wasn’t crying before, I now had to let the tears flow.

It was an extraordinary event, a life-changing presentation by Dr. Koplewicz, and yes, a recommitment on my part to Never Forget. Many thanks to all of you who contributed to this outstanding program. Our lives are better for it.

I can be reached at Idsilver@sbcglobal.net and (775)250-2898.