NYC Celebrate Israel Parade gives names to Jews slain by Nazis
Harley Lippman, the grand marshal of this year’s Celebrate Israel Parade, has dedicated his life to identifying and naming Jews who were murdered by the Nazis and buried anonymously in mass graves. Lippman, who founded IT consulting firm Genesis 10 and is a descendant of Holocaust survivors, lost 86 members of his family during the Holocaust. His mission is even more critical today, with the recent rise of anti-Semitism in the US and around the world. Lippman, who has discovered 50 previously unknown Jewish mass graves in Poland, believes it is important to show unity in support of Israel, not just among American Jews but non-Jews as well.
Lippman has made it his mission to locate graves of murdered Jews and honor and preserve their memory since 2009. He has identified 50 Polish Jews killed by Nazis and dumped in mass graves between September 1939 and March 1942, before concentration camps were built. Lippman’s work was recently recognized in Poland, where he was honored for his contributions to Jewish history. He made a documentary titled “Safeguarding Memory: Commemorating Jewish Mass Graves in Poland,” which was shown on PBS.
“While most of us know the names Treblinka and Auschwitz, it’s often those nameless, faceless people who had the bad fortune of being just picked by the Nazis and just shot in the woods – without ever having the dignity of a burial,” Lippman said. “We want to give those poor souls the dignity they deserve – at least in death.”
FAQs:
Who is Harley Lippman?
Harley Lippman is the grand marshal of this year’s Celebrate Israel Parade and the founder of IT consulting firm Genesis 10. He is also a descendant of Holocaust survivors who lost 86 members of his family during the Holocaust.
What is Lippman’s mission?
Lippman’s mission is to identify and name Jews who were murdered by the Nazis and buried anonymously in mass graves. He has located 50 previously unknown Jewish mass graves in Poland and made a documentary about the phenomenon.
Why is Lippman’s work important?
Lippman’s work is important because it honors and preserves the memory of Jews who were murdered by the Nazis and buried unceremoniously in mass graves. With the recent rise of anti-Semitism, it is more critical than ever to show unity in support of Israel, according to Lippman.
What does Lippman hope to achieve through his work?
Lippman hopes to give murdered Jews the dignity they were denied in death by identifying and naming them.
Names of Jews killed by Nazis honored at Celebrate Israel Parade in NYC.
Harley Lippman, the grand marshal of the Celebrate Israel Parade along Fifth Avenue marking 75 years of the state of Israel, has been dedicating his life to giving names to Jews slaughtered by the Nazi regime and dumped anonymously in mass graves. Lippman, who is the founder of IT consulting firm Genesis 10, was honored last week in Poland for his work in discovering previously undiscovered Jewish mass graves from WWII. He believes that his mission is more critical now than ever due to rising antisemitism levels. “With the rise of antisemitism at record levels, it’s more important than ever to show unity and support for Israel—not just among American Jews, but non-Jews as well,” said Lippman, 68.
“As we’ve learned from history, when people reveal their bad intentions, we have to pay attention,” said Lippman. “It’s not just Iran that wants to wipe Israel off the map,” he said, with hate everywhere, especially in New York City, where the now-infamous CUNY Law graduation speech demonized the Jewish state. “All the more reason for us to show our pride and commitment to the strong America-Israel relationship.”
Lippman, who is a descendant of Holocaust survivors, lost 86 members of his family, many of whom were Polish. He has identified some 50 Polish Jews who were killed at the hands of the Nazis between September 1939 and March 1942 and dumped in mass graves, before concentration camps were constructed to carry out Adolf Hitler’s Final Solution. Lippman has been working since 2009 to locate graves of murdered Jews and hold memorials to honor and preserve their memory. He made a PBS documentary, “Safeguarding Memory: Commemorating Jewish Mass Graves in Poland,” about this phenomenon.
“While most of us know the names Treblinka and Auschwitz, it’s often those nameless, faceless people who had the bad fortune of being just picked by the Nazis and just shot in the woods – without ever having the dignity of a burial,” Lippman said. “We want to give those poor souls the dignity they deserve – at least in death.”