Names, Not Numbers ®
In partnership with UJA Federation NY
An Exclusive Premiere Screening of a Student Produced Holocaust Documentary
Sunday, March 23, 2025 | 4:00 pm
Stage 74 Theater at the SYJCC
74 Hauppauge Rd.
Commack, NY
Join us for a “Names, Not Numbers” documentary film screening on Sunday, March 23, 2025 at 4:00 pm. This original documentary chronicles the life of three local Holocaust survivors: Sol Ginzburg, Edith Gross, and Celina Kohn. It was created by SYJCC teens in “Names, Not Numbers,” a unique program where students learn to combine research, journalism, and video production to capture and share the stories of Holocaust survivors so that they are never forgotten.
Light dessert refreshment reception will follow after the screening.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Names, Not Numbers® program brings teens together to learn about the Holocaust through a unique, engaging, and memorable experience that combines research, interviews, video production, documentary film tools, and film editing. Rather than learning in a traditional classroom setting, students meet in person with Holocaust survivors and create an unforgettable film documenting the survivors’ lives.
This year, a group of 18 students from diverse backgrounds met regularly at SYJCC, facilitated by program coordinator, Jane Fossner Pashman. During meetings, they participated in sessions to learn more about the history of the Holocaust, its timeline, and the roles of conspirators, bystanders, and upstanders. They then met with a local journalist to learn interviewing techniques, which included how to craft appropriate questions that can categorize a survivor’s experience before the war, during the war, and after the war. In small groups, students were matched with a Holocaust survivor, and they spent weeks researching their particular story. To prepare for the interview, students gained professional video techniques and skills from a videographer, and the necessary elements to edit and produce a documentary.
The final Names, Not Numbers documentary is presented to the community at a premiere screening event on March 23, 2025. The film will also be archived at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem (the world’s perminent Holocaust museum and resource center).
Names, Not Numbers® is an interactive, multimedia Holocaust project created by Tova Fish-Rosenberg. The Names, Not Numbers® program is generously supported by a prominent national foundation and by UJA Federation of Long Island.
2025 Students:
Jenna Atlas
Adin Bart
Sarah Bloom
Molly Deblinger
Layla Derzie
Oliver Donnelly
Hailey Drobner
Julia Ehlers
Dylan Gordon
Alexandra Levinsohn
Daniel Morganstern
Eli Noah
Jake Seilback
Addison Sukoff
Cassandra Terrana
Jamie Weiss
Sophie Wolfman
Liza Zelkin
Program Director: Jane Pashman
Program Manager: Lisa Pollack
Program Facilitators: Beth Finger and Maya Yaron
TICKETS
SPONSORSHIPS
Please consider sponsoring this important event, which will enable us to continue to support Holocaust education and programs to combat antisemitism in our community.
Sponsorship Levels:
$180 – Friend – Includes 2 Tickets with Reserved Seating
$360 – Supporter – Includes 4 Tickets with Reserved Seating
$720 – Bronze – Includes 6 Tickets with Reserved Seating
$1000 – Silver – Includes 8 Tickets with Reserved Seating
$1800 – Gold – Includes 10 Tickets with Reserved Seating
$3600 – Platinum – Includes 12 Tickets with Reserved Seating – Name Mentioned from the Stage
$5400 – Diamond – Includes 15 Tickets with Reserved Seating – Name Mentioned from the Stage – Inclusion in Social Media Marketing
All sponsorship levels will be listed in the Film Premiere Program and signage at the event
For more information contact Michele Posner at [email protected] or 516-822-3535, x319
*Please note if you become a sponsor after March 18, 2025- we will not be able to secure VIP seating or inclusion in the playbill. The sponsor will be listed in the all-inclusive signage in the lobby and theater.
To Become a Sponsor, please
SURVIVORS
SOL GINZBURG
Born: 1937 in Vilna, Poland
Sol was born in Vilna, Poland in 1937. When Sol was only 2 years old, Poland was invaded by both Germany and the Soviet Union and his father Sam was arrested and taken away. Just a few weeks later, Sol, his mother, and his older brother Dov were all put on a truck and taken to Siberia. The family miraculously survived there for 3 years, hiding in a hole and trying to find food. Eventually, they were reunited with Sol’s father and they returned to Poland. When the family realized they weren’t welcome there and fled to a DP camp in Germany. The family lived in various German DP Camps. Sol’s brother left for Israel in 1947 at the age of fifteen, and was killed in 1953 as an IDF soldier who bravely threw himself on a grenade, sacrificing himself to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. Sol and his parents moved to the US in 1951 and lived in Brooklyn. Sol became a successful electrical engineer and had a distinguished career. Sol recently moved with his wife Nina to Commack, N.Y., from Smithtown. They have been married 61 years and have 2 children (a daughter and a son) and 5 grandchildren.
EDITH GROSS
Born: 1928 in Czechoslovakia
Edith was born in 1928 in Czechoslovakia. Edith’s father left the family for the U.S. when Edith was two years old. In September 1939, when Edith was ten years old, Hungarian forces occupied Czechoslovakia and Edith’s mother passed away. Things kept getting worse for Jewish families. German forces arrived in 1944. Edith and her family lived in the ghetto and were deported in a final transport to Auschwitz. This was the last time Edith saw most of her family members, but luckily she was able to stay with her sister, Deborah. After a few days, Edith and her sister were transported to a labor camp in Lithuania, and then to a camp in Poland. During this time of inhumanity and torture, Deborah got sick and went to the infirmary, and Edith never saw her again. With Russian forces quickly approaching, the prisoners were sent on a Death March until they were finally liberated by the Russians. After a period of illness, Edith made her way around various parts of Europe and continued on a long journey toward Palestine as part of a Zionist group. Edith’s father connected with her and brought her to New York in 1947. She was married to her husband Boris for almost 20 years before he passed away, and met her second husband Seymour, with whom she created a blended family. They were married for 45 years until his death in 2020. Edith had 2 sons, and treated Seymour’s children like her own. She has 7 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. Edith lives in Oakdale, N.Y.
CELINA KOHN
Born: 1931 in Bolesławiec, Poland
Celina was born in 1931 in Bolesławiec, Poland. In September 1939, German forces stormed her village and the family fled to the fields with just the clothes on their backs. Their homes were burned to the ground and they were forced to move around to constantly escape danger and stay a head of the German army. Much of the family they left behind were executed. Celina’s family wandered and sought shelter in various places. Eventually, a Christian woman agreed to take Celina and hid her for a time. Once that became too dangerous, she was relocated as a worker, posing as a Polish orphan. Upon liberation by the Russians, Celina was miraculously reunited with her family. Although her father survived the war, he was killed immediately thereafter. Celina and her mother and brother immigrated to Germany where they remained for two years before leaving for the U.S. in 1948. Celina met her husband, Sam, who was also a Holocaust survivor and they married in 1953. Celina has 2 children, Jeffrey and Sharon, 2 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren. Celina lives in Commack, NY.
Names, Not Numbers INC® is an interactive, multi-media Holocaust project created by educator, Tova Fish-Rosenberg
All funds raised will help to support Holocaust educational programming at the SYJCC
