■ ALTHOUGH THE burning of the books in Nazi Germany began on May 10, 1933, the German Embassy in Tel Aviv decided to commemorate the occasion last week with a press conference followed by the performance of works by German Jewish composers and readings in German and Hebrew of works by German Jewish writers. Guests at the well-attended event were greeted by Ambassador Steffen Seibert, who said that he was happy to be able to do so in an atmosphere of German-Israeli friendship. Performers included Sophie von der Tann, Anat Federschneider, Reut Ventorero and Menachem Wiesenberg who presented works by Heinrich Heine, Stefan Zweig, Isaac Babel and Irmgard Keun. Seibert also joined in the readings."} 68:{"position":9,"content":"

Whether it was by accident or design, the event took place during Hebrew Book Week, which was both a historic and an ironic coincidence. We should not forget that it was Heine who predicted “those who burn books will in the end burn people.”

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Keeping Yiddish alive

■ AT A time when Jewish historians and leaders of national and international Jewish organizations are worried about the preservation of Holocaust memory and ancient Jewish traditions, it should not be forgotten that the most common language among victims and survivors of the Holocaust was Yiddish."} 6a:{"position":11,"content":"

There are people in many parts of the Jewish world who have dedicated their efforts to keeping Yiddish alive and meaningful. Among them is Shmuel Atzmon Wircer, a Polish-born Holocaust survivor, who began his acting career as a child in his native Bilgora, and who on June 29 will celebrate his 94th birthday.

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Atzmon arrived in Israel in 1948 and played in various theaters in Hebrew. He also played in occasional Yiddish productions and was part of a Yiddish comedy trio, The Three Shmuliks, which also included Shmuel Rodensky and Shmulik Segal. In 1987, with the support of Shlomo Laha

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