Meetings with Solomon Perel were held at Jewish Museum and Moscow ORT Technology School

World ORT, Moscow ORT Technology School in cooperation with the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center organized meetings with Solomon (Sally) Perel, witness and participant of the tragic events of World War II period.

Solomon Perel, a Jew who could survive in Nazi Germany, impersonating himself as “volksdeutsche” and became a member of the Hitlerjugend. Amazing fate of this man is reflected in his autobiographical book.

Current visit of Solomon Perel to Moscow, organized by Moscow ORT Technology School with the support of World ORT, is dedicated to the publishing of the Russian translation of his book. And both meetings are the first Solomon Perel’s presentations in front of Russian-speaking audience.

Russian translation of Solomon Perel’s autobiography was presented, prepared in 2010 by Natalia Bykhovskaya and Jaroslav Bykhovskiy, Director of ORT Resource Center at Moscow ORT Technology School.

Hebrew teacher of Moscow ORT Technology School Ilya Zhivotovsky took an active part in the editing of the text and organized the project work with students on preparation of a multimedia version of the book.

Publication of the book had been carried by the Publishing House "Knizhniki" with the financial support of the World ORT.

December, 2, there was a presentation of the book at the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center. For all attended this meeting became a unique opportunity to communicate with a participant of the tragic events of the period of 1930s-40s years of the 20^th century. As noted by the author, he considers himself as "a small encyclopedia of the ideologies of the 20^th century". He was a Zionist, a member of the Bund, joined the Komsomol and spent four years at the Hitlerjugend school. Now Solomon Perel introduces himself a universal humanist, claiming a priority of human life above any religions and ideologies. Amazing fate of this person, the unusual circumstances that formed his way of thinking aroused the interest of the audience and he was asked many questions concerning  not only the details of his biography , but deep historical and sometimes, philosophical problems.

December, 3, at Moscow ORT Technology School a meeting with the students students and teachers of Moscow ORT Technology School and the Center for Education № 1311 "Tehiya" (ORT) was held. Before the beginning of the presentation Solomon Perel spoke with School’s teachers and administration and met with students of the project team, responsible for the preparation of a multimedia version of the book.

At the beginning of the meeting at the Assembly Hall of Moscow ORT Technology School, Solomon Perel said: "I want to reveal to you a little secret. At this meeting, which is happening now, I'm very worried. The reason for this is following - exactly 70 years ago, I was a students of the ORT. At the end of the Second World War, in 1945, in Munich, ORT school had been opened where I studied. But then, ORT was completely different than now… Today you have computers and other electronic devices. When I studied, we have no computers. I was given with a hammer, iron, sandpaper and other tools that were at hand, and I had to work with this. I am absolutely convinced that every professional should be able to work well with hand and be able to hold a hammer, to be able to handle the tools. And now you can understand why I'm so excited. Seventy years ago, I could not even imagine that I would be in Moscow, and that I will be meeting with the students of ORT schools. For me it is great day. And so the purpose of my visit: with the ORT support my autobiographical book, which was written in Hebrew, was finally published in Russian and it will be available for the readers all over the Russia. "

After a short introduction, in which Solomon Perel presented his book and told the story of his life, it was the time for free communication. Despite the young age of the most of the audience, the depth and scope of the issues interested participants of this meeting were equal to those ones that the adult participants were asking at the meeting at the Jewish Museum.

Development and support of the projects promoting understanding and study of the history and heritage of the Jewish people is one of the most important activities of ORT. Publication of the Russian translation of the autobiographical book by a famous Israeli writer and public figure Solomon Perel, and the organization of his meetings with students is one more contribution to the preservation of the memory of the victims of the Holocaust: those who died and those who survived and could tell their story to the younger generation.