tara's story begins in
1920, in her birthplace,
Ejszyszki, a small
Lithuanian shtetl near
the cultural center of Vilna.
Her story continues on walls
of the U.S. Holocaust Memori
al Museinn..1:'"OviV'6:':i':
There, in a looming tow-
er of photographs, visi
tors can discern a
p icture of a long-%•:. •
*.tijW girl, seated
bik
gaze is s:
looking
ward from.
wall of tharaW
Ejszyszki .
°flounced,:

Dr. Eugene Fisher: A new era.

Celebration To Mark
Vatican-Israel Accord

ALAN HITSKY ASSOCIATE EDITOR

T

he long-awaited formaliza-
tion of relations between
the Catholic Church and
the State of Israel will be
celebrated Aug. 14 at Congrega-
tion Shaarey Zedek.
The Archdiocese of Detroit is
co-sponsoring the event, which
will feature Archbishop Adam
Maida; executive secretary of the
National Conference of Catholic
Bishops Dr. Eugene Fisher;
Chaim Shacham of the Israeli
consulate in Chicago; and Rabbi
Irwin Groner of Shaarey Zedek,
who is past president of the na-
tional Rabbinical Assembly.
Father John Budde, the new
ecumenical officer for the Arch-
diocese, believes the 7:30 p.m.
event marks continued progres-
sion in Catholic-Jewish relations,
from both political and religious
perspectives.
"From a Catholic-Vatican state
standpoint, it means that the
Vatican sees continued move-
ment toward peace and good will
in the Middle East."
The Vatican Council II decla-
ration in 1965 rejected the Chris-
tian charge of deicide against the
Jews and recognized the Jewish
roots of Christianity. In the 30

years since Vatican II, Father
Budde said, "seminary teachings
have changed and there is a
strong desire on every level to de-
plore any kind of anti-Semitism.
"We are always going to have
some people on both sides who
are prejudiced," he said. "But we
have made great strides."
Arnold Michlin has pursued
the celebration idea for those rea-
sons. Mr. Michlin has been active
in ecumenical affairs in Detroit,
and believes that if properly pub-

Marking a new era
in Catholic-Jewish
relations.

hcized, the Vatican-Israel accord
"will nullify the hatred and mis-
understandings of lay Catholics,
and lay Jews as well."
Dr. Fisher was invited to
speak, Mr. Michlin said, because
he is a native Detroiter and has
long been active in ecumenical af-
fairs on behalf of the Catholic
Church. IA

shook
home ld
3,500 Je
before the
Nazis coin,.
pletel
wiped it
out.
In
memory of
the scourge,
the
U.S.
Holocaust
Memorial
Museum in
Washington,
D.C., features an
exhibit devoted to
citizens of that
town. There are
more than 6,000 pho-
tographs in the Etiszysz-
ki Tower, designed by
survivor Yaffa Eliach.
AtEu-a was lucky. She, along
with her mother and three sib-
lings, escaped to Michigan just,
as Hitler come to power. In
1933, they joined their father,
Jacob, in Belleville. The family
took the last name Goodman,
and Atara's first name became
Kathleen.
She studied in Detroit, made
friends (despite her accent,
which she said "was not in
style") and married Ray Zim
merman in 1940.
"I (have) had two lives — my
American life since 1933 and
my Ejszyszki life before that,"
she wrote in her private mem-
oirs.
Hundreds of other Jews from

Ejszyszki, including many of
Ms. Zimmerman's relatives M
paetda
m
edri
mttun
hCeed:zriYt
. sSzki PFt
were not so fortunate, They per-
eochil
and wrote hihreem
leic.tY
ii
ished at the hands of the Nazis.
d informal,
thh
in etirh
cl
writings
P
hdw
ew p
bd r iaea are
.v
f 1 cimt ir6
i:L
wit
cotrduJasett
stay
touch with their
was a very

7

,

1-lowever, Ms. Zimmerm
was never willing to bury th
memories. Before she died qt_.
June 27, she helped preserve
the history of her hometown
She became a charter membd
of the U.S. Holocaust Memori
al Museum and, donated more
than 80 family photographs to
the Ejszyszki Tower, Several,
including the picture of her on
the bike, are on permanent ex-
hibit.
Ms. Zimmerman also volun-
teered at the local Holocaust

you as a young girl in your vil-
lage allowed me to make a per-
sonal connection to a different
place and time that I might not
have otherwise made." Ll

