Dr. Silberklang explained how, in late spring of 1944, the Germans carried out an operation to gather and deport all the Jews located on the scattered islands of Greece. "Despite the advancements of the Allied Forces throughout Europe and the pending collapse of Germany as World War II was ending, it was a 'seek-and-destroy' mission of the Nazis to murder all the Jews of Europe and North Africa."
Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States, MK Michael Oren, addressed the plenary at the conference, pointing out how "all Jews, especially of my generation, walk around with their own personal Holocaust." Oren recalled that growing up Jewish in the United States, the Holocaust wasn't discussed as openly as it is today – it was "just beneath the surface." He applauded the participants for their dedication in educating and keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive and relevant for future generations.
Director of Yad Vashem's Visual Center Liat Benhabib gave a fascinating lecture, entitled "From Newsreels to YouTube: Film and the Holocaust." She stated: "Filmmakers try to reconstruct memory – and today, everyone is a filmmaker. Especially as survivors pass away, I believe that film will become even more important in Holocaust remembrance and education."
On the last day of the conference, participants had the opportunity to meet and interact with several Holocaust survivors from a variety of locations and backgrounds. Frieda Kliger, whose image was used on all of the conference materials and posters, was in attendance. One of the only members of her family to survive the Holocaust, Kliger described how after liberation she noticed "only sadness in people's eyes."
She and her late husband were among the first to marry after liberation in the Bergen Belsen DP Camp on December 18, 1945. "I chose to put life into his eyes," she remembers. Kliger now has two children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, some of whom were present at the conference.