Gmach felt the need to respond in some way to that hate crime, the worst attack on Jews in the history of the United States. She began teaching her 9-year-old granddaughter, Yvette, about the Holocaust and the fatal outcomes of unchecked hate. After a few conversations, Yvette drew a picture of a tree with strong roots, butterflies, and circles as leaves. She explained to her grandmother that the circles on the branches represented all people and the “good and bad in life.”
That drawing inspired Gmach to develop “We Are The Tree of Life,” a project focusing on Holocaust education utilizing the arts to promote a message of hope and survival. Literature, music, dance, poetry and drawings created by prisoners in the concentration camps and ghettos during World War II show that beauty can survive, even when experiencing unspeakable horrors.
WATTOL has participated in local, national, and international programming ranging from a chamber music concert of Le Salon de Musiques in La Jolla, to a the annual Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust Education at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, to this year’s UNESCO commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day supported by the permanent delegations of Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Monaco.
In those days, drawings were hidden and invisible.
On this day they will be seen.
In those days, literature was voiceless.
On this day, life stories, words, and poetry will be proclaimed.
The first WATTOL programs took place at UC San Diego in collaboration with the Jewish Studies Department, and at USD, in collaboration with USD Hillel. Drawings, poetry and music created in the camps were presented.
With a grant from the Leichtag Foundation, Gmach was able to approach the Lawrence Family JCC as a venue to present WATTOL programs.
Gmach says she is grateful to JCC CEO Betzy Lynch and former San Diego Center for Jewish Culture Director Ryan Isaac for presenting WATTOL programs as part of the Arts & Ideas series, programs such as Polish-Canadian pianist Daniel Wnukowski, who performed works by Holocaust survivors; and modern dancer, Tamuz Dubow, whose choreography was inspired by a Polish-Jewish ballerina, Franceska Mann, who managed to seduce and shoot her concentration camp guard before she was killed.
Dubnov’s dance is also part of the We Are the Tree of Life documentary as are the original songs, “Carry On” by Peter Yarrow and “We Are The Tree Of Life” sung by Jackie s daughter, Yael Gmach. The 72-minute documentary was created by filmmaker, Clint Burkett, with consultation from artist Lynn Kebow.
The film includes footage from the Shoah Foundation with its founding director, Stephen Smith and footage from the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, with its director, Lauren Bairnsfather. It tells the story of artist Friedel Decker-Brandeis and other graphic creators from Terezin. It includes music written in the camps and performed by Francisco Lotero, myself and Monique Kunewalder. The poem The Butterfly and an excerpt from Eli Wiesel’s writings read by Susie Meltzer also are included in the documentary. Gmach hopes that this documentary, in its entirety or in segments, can serve as an educational tool.
Gmach has spent a lifetime committed to the furtherance of Jewish culture. A native of Tunisia, Gmach is the curator and founder of several San Diego-based Jewish events including the San Diego Jewish Book Fair; the San Diego Jewish Film Festival; the Jewish Music Festival and two Holocaust exhibits, “The Eyes of Anne Frank,” and “DAVKA, the Survival of A People.” After acting as the director of The Initiative for Moral Courage Initiative at SDSU, she initiated a Middle East North Africa collection for the USC Shoah Foundation.
She is the author of a memoir, From Bomboloni to Bagel: A Story of Two Worlds, and a novel, The Antiphonary of Love: The Call of The Scroll. She is writing another book, Aberrations or Stupidities; Be Kind.
Her plans include WATTOL focusing on combating antisemitism through the arts. She is planning to exhibits of the art of Holocaust artists David Olère, a survivor of Auschwitz, and Samuel Bak, a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, and working with Tammuz Dubrow on additional choreography about the Holocaust.
Recently, she and her husband, David Gmach, hosted the niece and grand nephews of the French family that hid David during World War II. Jackie told the younger child Cassandre, 7, about the Holocaust and showed her Yvette’s drawing. Cassandre produced a tree drawing of her own with leaves of many colors. When asked why the many colors, she responded that people came in many kinds and different colors, but they should all live together with love and peace, just like the leaves on a tree.
I know Jackie, but not everything that Eileen wrote about. These two ladies are accomplished in their own right. Appreciated reading about the ongoing efforts to teach.
I know Jackie, but not everything that Eileen wrote about. These two ladies are accomplished in their own right. Appreciated reading about the ongoing efforts to teach.