Dear Friends and Supporters:
The events of October 7 have left many of us in the worldwide Jewish community shocked and traumatized and more determined than ever to stand up to violence, hate and antisemitism. We join with many other organizations that have dedicated years of resources and expertise in Holocaust education to redoubling our efforts to combat Holocaust ignorance and the scourge of antisemitism. The Foundation remains dedicated to pursuing these goals through the promotion of its concert performances, film screenings and original curriculum materials for students and teachers. In May 2023, we were honored to perform Hours of Freedom: The Story of The Terezín Composer in Berlin at the Pierre Boulez Saal under the patronage of the German Minister of State for Culture and Media Claudia Roth. The concert was attended by German government officials, VIPS, corporate executives and a Holocaust Survivor. Stu and Minister Roth provided moving opening remarks. Our education department continues to form valuable and meaningful partnerships with other organizations. In July, five Defiant Requiem Teaching Ambassadors, along with Alexandra Zapruder and Murry, traveled to Terezín as part of the Centropa Summer Academy. We also partnered with Classrooms Without Borders and conducted a teacher workshop in Richmond at the Virginia Holocaust Museum. We continue to create new curriculum materials and look forward to hosting our first in-person seminar for teachers in Washington, DC in June 2024 with a generous grant received from The Claims Conference. 2023 ended with a deeply personal and powerful performance of they burn, the fires of the night: lamentations from the ashes, based on the book Poems Born in Bergen-Belsen by Defiant Requiem Foundation board member Menachem Z. Rosensaft in New York City in November. A complete list of events in 2023 is provided in this report. The three of us continue to be honored to lead The Defiant Requiem Foundation into its second decade. Current events only increase the urgency to promote the Foundation’s mission to educate the next generation using its artistic performances, film and original curriculum materials. Engaging students and teachers in high schools and college campuses to use our programs as a catalyst to confront all forms of hate is a critical component of the work we do. At this critical juncture with survivors passing away, antisemitism on the rise, and sobering statistics confirming worldwide Holocaust ignorance, the Foundation’s mission is more important than ever. We are deeply grateful to all of our donors for their generosity and commitment.
STUART E. EIZENSTAT BOARD CHAIR
MURRY SIDLIN PRESIDENT AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
LOUISA HOLLMAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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