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Co-founder Sharon Hannah Berry is one of Hannah’s seven grandchildren. Along with her sisters, Sandra and Cynthia, this foundation was created to fulfill Ben Fainer’s wishes of continuing his legacy of Holocaust education. Ben is their father who survived Hitler's Hell.
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"While most U.S. adults know when the Holocaust happened and are familiar with Auschwitz, [...] fewer are cognizant about the number of Jews murdered and how Hitler came to power in Germany, according to a [...] American Jewish Committee (AJC) public opinion survey." /1
"I have never seen a picture of my grandmother Hannah, though I continue to search records and photos that have become available. This seemingly small matter is a profound metaphor that illustrates the reality of a life once lived full and normal — extinguished from humanity. Those of us, who carry on the legacy for the victims of this atrocity, have a responsibility to keep their stories alive in ways that honor, respect, and inspire. It is my intent to promote the affirming lessons learned through Holocaust education, hearing personal histories and conscientious reflection."
It seems the concept of Never Again has been replaced with disinformation intended to denigrate people who observe Judaism. This powerful wave of hate in the streets, the media, and college campuses propels us to challenge the rise in global anti-Semitism fueled by lack of knowledge about the Holocaust, Holocaust denial, prejudices against Jews, and the denial of Israel’s right to exist.
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Sharon is retired and now works part time in a research capacity. She devotes the lion's share of her time to the administration and management of the Hannah Ida Urman Foundation. She lives on a several acres in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and has turned her love of gardening into a farmette growing blackberries, sunflowers, and tomatoes. In her spare time, she is writing a book to be titled After the Silence; her personal story following her father's memoir Silent for Sixty Years, co authored by Mark Leach.
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/1 The survey of U.S. adults was conducted for AJC, a nonpartisan organization, by the independent research firm SSRS. A nationally representative sample of 1,004 general population adults, ages 18 or older, was interviewed from October 10 – October 18, 2022. The margin of error is +/-3.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
Erin Dobson, Ben and Michelle Hastings-Mohr
at Steelville High School
Ben regularly spoke of the loss of his mother Hannah and the sufferings he endured. These events were truly bitter sweet, for no matter how difficult retelling his tragic story was, Ben loved and cherished the time he spent with those who came to learn and remember.
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Sam Pivnik
also grew up in Bedzin, Poland and lived in the same building as Hannah and her family – 77 Modrzejowska.
Sam was imprisoned in Auschwitz, where he should have died on several occasions -- due to illness or the “wave to the left of the gray doeskin-gloved finger of the SS officer”.
His story is vividly described in his biography: Survivor, Auschwitz, The Death March and My Fight for Freedom, written by J.R. Trow, available on Amazon by following this link. His book was also translated to German and is mandatory high school reading.
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Via family history recently discovered, Hannah's sister Sura was Sam's father's first wife; Sura died in 1918 when she was 24 years of age.
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Sam passed away two days before his 91st birthday, which was September 1, 2017.