A Daughter of Holocaust Survivors Remembers

Janet Kirchheimer
Poet
June 3, 2008

“My father has taught me that love is stronger than death.” It’s a remarkable assertion by one whose parents both survived the Holocaust, her father escaping to America on Aug. 30, 1939 (one day before Hitler invaded Poland) and her mother escaping one year previously. But four members of her father’s immediate family and six members of her mother’s family did not survive the Holocaust horrors that caused the deaths of 6 million (6,000,000) Jews.

Janet Kirchheimer with parents Margot and Julius

Speaking to 70 Y’s Men of Meriden on June 3, Janet Kirchheimer discussed her use of poetry to help assure that the world will never forget that massive brutality and will never let it happen again. With her parents in attendance, Janet read numerous poems from her book “How to Spot One of Us”, published in 2007 and acclaimed by no less than Elie Wiesel. Indeed, a selection of poems from this book was read last month to assembled multinational military personnel at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq during a “Day of Remembrance.”

While many Americans believe that WW II began in 1941, for the German Jewish population it began in the early 1930s. One poem read by Janet describes the tragic arrest of her grandfather (a German Iron Cross recipient in WW I) in 1933, following which he was tortured and finally released. Another describes Kristallnacht, a two-day assault on German Jews in Nov. 1938, during which 91 Jews died, thousands of synagogues and businesses were destroyed, and 25,000 men were sent to concentration camps.

It was during Kristallnacht that Janet’s father, then 16 years old, was arrested and sent to the concentration camp at Dachau. As described in her poetry, he was forced to remove long underwear from a fellow prisoner who had frozen to death during the night and use it for himself. But despite these horrors, Janet’s message is not one of hatred, but rather that it is not enough that we simply remember. Remembrance must precipitate ongoing action to prevent future recurrences of genocide.

Cambodia's Angkor Wat
and Its Killing Fields

Frank Donovan
World traveler
May 27, 2008

Built in the early 12^th century by the Khmer people for King Suryavarman II as his state temple and capital city, Angkor Wat in Cambodia remains to this day the largest sacred building in the world. As tall as Notre Dame Cathedral and surrounded by a moat 200 yards wide, it initially was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, and later transformed into Buddhist worship that continues today.

Presenting a video program to 71 Y's Men of Meriden on May 27, member Frank Donovan provided narration based on the recent trip that he and his wife took to Cambodia, Viet Nam and Thailand. He noted that Angkor Wat was built of local pink sandstone. It is surrounded by a 14-foot-high outer wall extending 2.2 miles which encloses the 203 acre complex. It's original economy flourished due to the abundant rice-growing land provided by the Mekong River, which changes its course yearly during snow melt in the Himalayan Mountains.

The five dramatic towers at the center of the temple are arranged in a quincunx (like the five-spot on dice). The shrines at Angkor Wat contain remarkable carvings bearing the likenesses of Hindu gods, the result of heavy trade with India at the time. Some 3000 devatas (guardian angels) have been sculpted, each one unique! More than 1000 carvings written in Sanskrit, the holy language of India, provide a chronological history of the kings and temples. 

About 500 years after it was built, Angkor Wat was largely abandoned when the aggressive Mongol hordes pushed the Thais into Cambodia. Over the next few centuries, the jungle overgrew much of the complex and it remained virtually unknown in the West, until French explorer Henri Mouhot described it to the outside world during the mid-19^th century. Restoration work was halted during 1975-1979, a grisly period when an astounding one quarter of Cambodia's eight million people were killed by the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot in Cambodia's "Killing Fields." Careful restoration has resumed since that period.

Aging Gracefully

Dr. Michael Kane
Naturopathic physician
Connecticut Center for Health in Middletown
May 20, 2008

Creating healthy living habits is a process; it doesn't occur overnight. Numerous obstacles such as lack of time and money must be overcome by setting realistic daily and weekly goals. Poor food choices, addictions (tobacco, alcohol and drugs), poor sleeping habits and poor stress management all need to be addressed.

Speaking to 61 Y's Men of Meriden on May 20, Dr. Michael Kane, Naturopathic physician at the Connecticut Center for Health in Middletown, described Naturopathy as a system of medicine that seeks to treat the causes of illness (not just the symptoms) through prevention, while emphasizing the whole person, not just the affected part. One example is the maintenance of bone health to prevent osteoporosis by using weight bearing exercises (walking, weight lifting), maintaining adequate mineral status (calcium, magnesium and boron), preserving good digestive function, and monitoring Vitamin D levels.

Prostate cancer prevention may be helped by ingestion of soy protein, lycopene (tomato products), green tea, and foods high in antioxidants (such as fruits and vegetables). Joint health (arthritis prevention) responds to Omega-3 fatty acids, glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate, natural anti-inflammatory agents (such as ginger), and active stretching exercises. And mental health (by retarding or preventing dementia) appears to respond to mental exercises (learning new skills and languages, word games and puzzles), as well as checking for levels of brain nutrients such as folic acid and homocysteine.

There are several bulwarks in maintaining a healthy life. Diet should emphasize selection of foods with a low glycemic index (such as fruits, vegetables and whole grain products), achieving weight loss goals by portion size control and timing of meals, fiber intake of 25-30 grams daily, and ingestion of 4 grams daily of Omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish, nuts, juices with high levels of anti-oxidants, and even coffee). Exercise (150 minutes per week of aerobic workouts plus resistance training three times per week) and stress management (through methods such as meditation, exercise, counseling, and nature walks) are also essential.

New Approaches
to Incarcerated Delinquents

Christine Whidden
Warden, Manson Youth Institution
May 13, 2008

Think you've had a tough day? Then try this on for size. You are in charge of 682 incarcerated adolescent offenders, ages 14-20, in a maximum security facility. You oversee more than 500 employees and an annual budget of $19 million (which translates into a skimpy $82/day per offender). And your job is to maintain security and order, as well as to prepare inmates for a rehabilitated life outside prison walls.

Speaking to 73 Y's Men of Meriden on May 13, Christine Whidden, Warden of the John R. Manson Youth Institution in Cheshire, described the challenges, frustrations and triumphs that she experiences in this position. Here are a few statistics. About 75% of inmates have a history of drug abuse.  The average duration of incarceration is 12 months. Many have psychiatric disorders and a large number were raised by a single grandparent, usually a grandmother.

But it's not enough just to provide a safe environment in prison with food, clothing and medical care. On release, most inmates will return to the same environment that led to their previous criminal actions, so something has to change. During incarceration, an array of educational opportunities is offered, including vocational training, work programs within the facility, and life skills education (such as how to make a bed and maintain personal hygiene). Psychological counseling, conferences with parents, sports (such as flag football), religious activities and introduction to the arts are provided.

Whidden believes that education is the key to a successful return to community life. A remarkable cadre of 67 teachers, many as volunteers, teach classes as late as 10 pm, leading some students to a GED certification. Former inmates who have gone on to college education and successful careers are brought back to motivate prisoners. And Whidden feels that we should try 16 and 17 year old offenders as children, not as adults, so that they may be given the many services that youthful offenders receive.

Manson Youth Institution

Islam - Peace or War?

Tom Grimshaw
Student of Islam and Y's Men member
May 6, 2008

"If a woman has been found not to have been a virgin when married, then she must be stoned to death." "If your son is stubborn and rebellious, the men shall stone him to death." Does this sound like some radical preaching from Islam? You'd be wrong; these are both quotes found in the book of Deuteronomy in the Bible.

Speaking to 60 fellow Y's Men of Meriden on May 6, Tom Grimshaw, who recently has intensively studied Islam, noted that passages in the holy book of Islam, the Qur'an, are no more radical than those in the Bible, and indeed contain many calls to a virtuous and compassionate life. This contradicts a current feeling by many in the West that Islam is universally fanatical and warlike.

The Qur'an was communicated to Muhammad, an illiterate Arab born in Mecca in 570 A.D. He had a frightening revelation at age 40, and during the next 22 years received on average five additional messages yearly from God (transmitted by the angel Gabriel). Muhammad had scribes write down these revelations, which outlined rules for living, provided examples of those who keep and those who break rules, and described the outcome on Judgment Day. These revelations are considered by Muslims to be a continuation of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and Muslims freely acknowledge the life and importance of Abraham, Noah and Jesus.

The Qur'an is meant to be sung or chanted. Central in its teaching are the five pillars of Islam; worship one God and Muhammad is His messenger, the devout must pray five times a day, all believers must read and understand the Qur'an, believers must practice charity, and they must make a pilgrimage to Mecca. As it was being written, Muhammad was astonished that Jews, Christians and some of his own ethnic countrymen refused to acknowledge its teachings. He was later forced to raise an army to defeat those who felt his teachings were a threat.

A few facts that may surprise you. Muslims worship the same God as do Christians and Jews. Muslims may marry Christians and Jews. The Muslim extremists and terrorists mostly derive from the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia. And only 10% of Islam is Arab based; the biggest concentration is in Indonesia.