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"To save one life is as if you have saved the world."
the Talmud
"The future depends on what we do in the present"
Mahatma Ghandi
"History despite its wrenching pain cannot
be unlived but if faced with courage need not be lived again"
Maya Angelou
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Aaron's Biography
Aaron Elster is a child survivor of the Holocaust. He was born in 1933 in the small northeastern village of Sokolow, Podlaski in Poland. Aaron lived in the Sokolow Ghetto with his two sisters, mother and father until the liquidation of the ghetto in September, 1942.
He escaped the liquidation and hid in the surrounding forests and farms. Eventually,
Aaron found refuge in the attic of a Polish family, where he hid for two years until the war's end.
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After the war, he lived in several orphanages throughout Poland, and eventually was smuggled out of Poland to various DP camps in West Germany. Aaron Elster and his sister Irene came to the United States in June 1947.
He was educated in Chicago and served in the armed forces in Korea. Aaron has been married to his wife Jackie for more than 50 years. They have two sons, Steven and Robert, and two grandchildren, Sarah and Allison.
After retiring from MetLife, he became an active member of the community, serving as co-chairman of the Speakers Bureau and Vice President of the Executive Board at the
Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois. His presentations touch adults and children alike, and his open and loving style creates extensive discussions and interactive exploration of the Holocaust and its issues. Within his presentation, Aaron challenges young people to explore their strengths and encourages them to be the master of their destiny, realizing that they have the power to change
their world.
You can contact Aaron Elster with your questions or for a speaking engagement by contacting The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Educational Center at at www.hmfi.org or at www.aaronelster.com
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 Joy Erlichman Miller, Ph.D., is an internationally known licensed psychotherapist, professional trainer and author. Miller is the founder and director of Joy Miller & Associates in Peoria, Illinois. Dr. Miller is an Illinois state Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor as well as a CertifiedMaster Addictions Counselor. Additionally Dr. Miller has been a part-time instructor at Bradley University and was a faculty member at Walden University in the doctoral psychology program.
Miller is the author of six published books, which include, Following the Yellow Brick Road: The adult Child’s Personal Journey Through Oz; My Holding You Up is Holding Me Back: Over-Responsibility and Shame; Celebrations for Your Inner Child; Addictive Relationships: Reclaiming Your Boundaries; and Love Carried Me Home: Women Surviving Auschwitz, which is an in-depth look at the resilient struggle of 16 women during the Holocaust. All proceeds from the work are donated to the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum. Her latest publication is called Cancer: Here’s How YOU Can Help ME Cope and Survive.
www.joymiller.com |
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A unique and unflinching look into a boy’s fight for survival as a Jew in World War II Poland.
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The book, told
in the voice of young Aaron Elster, takes a unique and unflinching look into a boy’s fight
for survival.
In his solitude, the boy questions why his mother abandoned him and his very existence in this world.
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