From the Holocaust to October 7 | Exploring child rehabilitation across historical contexts

The Ghetto Fighters’ House invites you to our Talking Memory series:

Children, Trauma, and the Work of Recovery

From the Holocaust to October 7

New scholarship. New perspectives. Three conversations.

Join us for the first program:

From the Holocaust to October 7

Exploring child rehabilitation across historical contexts

Sunday, October 11, 2026

Opening Remarks:

Yigal Cohen, CEO, Ghetto Fighters’ House

Guest Editors:

Dr. Verena Buser

Associate Researcher Holocaust Studies Program/Western Galilee College

Dr. Boaz Cohen

Head, Holocaust Studies Program, Western Galilee College

Guest Speaker:

Rotem Semo Bareket, B.Arch

Architect and Head of Planning, Kindergartens for Life

Brothers and Sisters for Israel

The opening program of the new Talking Memory series explores the rehabilitation, resilience, and recovery of children in the aftermath of mass violence. Taking Child Rehabilitation from the Holocaust to October 7 as a point of departure, the conversation brings together historical research and contemporary experience to consider how children and communities recover from trauma.

Dr. Verena Buser will examine what the rehabilitation of children after the Holocaust can teach us about understanding the impact of war, genocide, and mass violence on children today, including those affected by October 7. Dr. Boaz Cohen will turn to the experience of approximately 8,000 Holocaust-survivor children detained in the Cyprus camps in 1946–48, exploring the efforts of educators and fellow survivors to help them rebuild trust, resilience, and hope under difficult conditions. Bringing the discussion into the present, Rotem Bareket will describe the development of Kindergartens for Life, from an emergency response providing safe spaces for children displaced after October 7 to a long-term initiative using architecture, education, and community to restore safety, continuity, belonging, and hope.

2 PM EST | 8 PM CET | 9 PM SAST | 9 PM Israel Time

This series is in partnership with Brothers and Sisters for Israel, Edut 710, Remember the Women Institute, Rabin Chair Forum at George Washington University, and Classrooms Without Borders. פחות