Michaela Marksová is the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic, having been appointed to the position on 29th January 2014. From 1997 to 2004, Minister Marksová was Public Relations Director at the Czech non-governmental organisation Gender Studies, before being engaged to lead the Family Policy Section of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs from 2004 to 2006, where she specialised in family policy, women’s rights, and equal opportunities. From April 2009 to September 2010, Minister Marksová was Director of the Equal Opportunities in Education section of the Czech Ministry of Education.
Jakub Kulhánek became a Deputy Minister in the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs in November 2014, and was appointed Deputy Minister of the Security and Multilateral Affairs Section on 1st January 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Kulhánek was a security advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and an analyst and head of the Eastern European program of the Association of International Affairs (AMO). Mr. Kulhánek has also previously cooperated with the Center for European Policy Analysis and the Eurasian Strategy Project.
Stuart Eizenstat, Special Adviser for Secretary of State Kerry on Holocaust Issues; Senior Counsel and, head of International Trade and Finance, at Covington & Burling, a Washington, D.C. law firm with offices throughout the world. From 1977 to 1981, he was President Jimmy Carter’s Chief Domestic Policy Adviser, and Executive Director of the White House Domestic Policy Staff. He was President Bill Clinton’s Deputy Secretary of the Treasury (1999–2001), Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs (1997–1999), and also served as the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade from 1996 to 1997. He was the United States Ambassador to the European Union from 1993 to 1996. During the Clinton Administration he was also Special Adviser to the President on Holocaust Issues, negotiating over $8 billion in recoveries for victims of Nazi aggression, for slave and forced labor, Nazi-looted art, insurance, and communal property in Central and Eastern Europe. He is co-chairman of the European-American Business Council (EABC). His book, “Imperfect Justice: Looted Assets, Slave Labor & the Unfinished Business of World War II“, describes his Holocaust-related negotiation, has been published in multiple languages, and is a valuable source of information in this field.
Jiří Šitler is a Czech diplomat and historian, designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic as Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues and Combatting of Anti-Semitism in March 2015. After serving in the Press Department and later the Foreign Policy Department of the Office of President Václav Havel (1993 - 1997), he joined the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he later became Director of the Central Europe Department. He was tasked to deal with the consequences of World War II, as head of the Czech delegation at the 1998 Washington Conference on Holocaust Era Assets, observer in the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims, Ambassador-at-Large for Second World War-related issues, and chief negotiator for compensation of slave and forced labourers and other Czech Nazi victims. Mr. Šitler previously served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to Romania (2010-2015) and to the Kingdom of Thailand, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao PDR, and the Union of Myanmar (2001-2006). He is also the author or co-author of numerous essays, articles, and books, especially on Czech-German relations, issues relating to the Second World War, Czech political history, and South-East Asian history.
Hugo Marom (Meisl) was born into a Jewish family in Brno, Czech Republic, but left for England in 1939 with his brother aboard the last Winton Kindertransport. In 1944 he joined the newly established RAF Air Training Corps cadets and, in 1948 - following the establishment of the State of Israel - he completed fighter pilot training with the Czechoslovak Air Force and volunteered for flying duties with the Israeli Air Force, who put him in charge of airfields in the southern Negev region. Nowadays Mr. Marom lives in Israel.
Pavel Svoboda graduated in law from Charles University, Prague and in European law from the University of Social Sciences, Toulouse. He comes from an academic background: as a Professor of European Law at the Law Faculty of Charles University in Prague, he has been following the developments in EU law for the past 20 years. He has previously served as an Attorney at Law, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Council of Europe, and Minister and Chairman of the Legislative Council of the Czech Republic. He has also worked as a visiting Professor at the University of Social Sciences in Toulouse. His main policy domains in which he works from the EU legal perspective are: the free movement of goods, international trade, economic competition, intellectual property, electronic commerce, and EU-international relations. He is a member of the European Parliament and Chair of its Committee on Legal Affairs since 2014.
Halyna Senyk is Executive Director of the European Shoah Legacy Institute and an expert in human rights, asset recovery, and international law. She has 12 years of experience in civil society development and state policy evaluation. Prior to joining ESLI she had a private legal practice representing clients at the European Court of Human Rights, worked with leading human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Centre for Human Rights Policy, and consulted for a number of United Nations agencies. Ms. Senyk also assisted in establishing the Anti-Corruption Action Centre in Ukraine, which played an important role in tracking the assets of politically-exposed members of the former Yanukovych regime.
Rovana Plumb is a Romanian politician and member of the Social Democratic Party. She was appointed Minister of Labour, Family, Social Protection, and the Elderly in March 2014. She attended Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies and served as a member of the Romanian Parliament from 2004 to 2007 and of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2012. She has recently devoted herself to publishing scholarly articles on issues surrounding consumer protection and the environment.
Michael Farrugia is the Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity in the Republic of Malta, and a former member of the Maltese parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe. Between 1998 and 2011, he served in the Maltese Parliament’s Social Affairs Committee and was a Labour Party representative in the Parliament’s Select Committee on IVF. He served as Main Spokesperson for Health, Elderly Care, Social Security, Social Welfare, Housing, ETC, and Cooperatives and as Main Spokesperson for Consumers, Communications, IT and Sustainable Development for the North of Malta. He was re-elected in the 12th District at the 2013 General Election and was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Planning and Administrative Simplification in the Office of the Prime Minister in March 2013.
Dime Spasov was appointed Minister of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Macedonia on 29th May 2013. He previously served as Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice and Deputy Director Of Public Enterprise for the Management of Residential and Commercial Property in the Republic of Macedonia.
Marek Bucior is a Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Poland since November 2008. He is also, from October 2009, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Social Security Institution. From February 2009 to January 2011 he was a member of the Financial Supervision Commission (as a representative of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy). Important part of Minister Bucior responsibilities is a supervision of Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression.
Lyle Scruggs is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut. He is a faculty affiliate of the Research Group on Social and Economic Rights at the University of Connecticut Human Rights Institute. He is a founding director of the Comparative Welfare Entitlements Dataset Project (cwed2.org), and his areas of academic expertise include comparative political economy, comparative welfare policy, comparative environmental politics, and quantitative research methods. Professor Scruggs received his Ph.D. from Duke University.
Colette Avital is a former Israeli politician and diplomat. She was a member of the Israeli delegation to Paris between 1982 and 1985, before working as Israeli Ambassador to Portugal from 1988 to 1992, and then as Consul-General to New York between 1992 and 1996. Ms. Avital was a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party and One Israel between 1999 and 2009 and today, she is the chairwoman of the Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel.
Colonel Pavel Vranský (Ret.) is a retired Czechoslovak Air Force Colonel and veteran of Allied campaigns in North Africa and the Middle East during the Second World War. He fled into Poland shortly after the Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia, where he was captured by the Soviet Army and imprisoned until 1941. Following his release, he enlisted in the Czechoslovak wing of the British Royal Air Force and served in Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Lebanon before being demobilised in 1946. Today, Col. Vranský is an active member of a number of Czechoslovakian veteran associations and currently holds the position of Vice Chairman of the Czech Freedom Fighters Association. Col. Vranský’s service has been warmly recognised and he is the recipient of a number of Czech, Polish, and British military decorations and medal.
Dr. Jost Rebentisch is General Manager of Bundesverband Information & Beratung für NS-Verfolgte. He is a research assistant and fellow in Kölnisches Stadtmuseum and also headed the project “Analysis of Proof of Nazi Forced Labour in Smaller and Medium-sized Businesses“. He has devoted himself to the research of historical sources concerning Nazi forced labour.
Anastasia Gulei is a victim of Nazi persecution who survived two years in a Gestapo prison and two years in Auschwitz before being liberated from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Today, Ms. Gulei is Head of the Antifascists Union of Ukraine and the organisation Former Political Prisoners of Nazi Camps.
Ágnes Daróczi is a minority researcher and journalist who has been active in promoting Roma rights locally in Hungary and also at the European level. She was the organiser of the first ever Roma Fine Arts Exhibition; founded the first Roma TV-Magazine; and implemented the Roma Folklore movement in Hungary. She has published numerous academic articles and was co-editor of a number of books, including “The Fate of Roma During the Holocaust”, “Vrana Mami Mesel” (Grandma Vrana’s Fairytales); and “Historia Romani”; she was also involved in the creation of several films relating to Romani culture. Ms. Daróczi is a Roma activist who relentlessly pursues the goal of ‘emancipation’ of the Romani people through the promotion of Human Rights Days, Roma Holocaust Remembrance Days, and other public service events.
Marta Malá is Director of the Foundation for Holocaust Victims in the Czech Republic. She completed her Judaica studies at the Hussite Theological Faculty of Charles University with a dissertation on Jewish customs and traditions in the Terezín Ghetto. She currently teaches Judaism and prepares educational programs for both children and adults. Ms. Malá is a member of the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic, represents the Jewish Community of Prague, and is a member of the School Council of the Lauder Schools of Prague. She has been working at the Foundation for Holocaust Victims since 2002, and has been the Director since 2006.
Elke Braun is a Senior Program Manager of the German Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” (Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft – EVZ), based in Berlin. As team leader in the focus area Commitment for Victims of National Socialism, she is responsible for program development and a yearly budget of 3 Million Euros to support survivors and other victims of national socialist persecution in Central and Eastern Europe, Germany, and Israel. Before joining EVZ in 2002, Ms. Braun worked for a Berlin daily newspaper and as a delegate for the International Red Cross coordinating humanitarian projects in Bosnia, China, India, and Bangladesh.
Rony Kalinsky is Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Survivors in Israel. He is a Colonel (res.) in the Israeli Defense Force whose last position was as Chief of Staff of the Education and Youth Corps, and a former head of World ORT (Kadima Mada) in Israel (WO is the world’s largest Jewish educational and vocational training non-governmental organization).
Jarmila Balážová is spokesperson for Jiří Dienstbier Jr, Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities, and Legislation of the Czech Republic. She was born in Brno, Czech Republic and studied journalism at Charles University in Prague. In 2002, she started working in Czech radio, where she prepared and moderated programmes concerning human rights, science, and political issues. Before, she focused on television and film production, editing scripts for children’s programmes as well as preparing and moderating her own program called “Jarmila Balážová’s Interviews”. She is the founder of the public benefit corporation “Romea”.
Vladimir Perepelitsa is a Deputy Director of the Department for Demographic Policy and Social Protection of the Population of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Russian Federation. He was awarded the medal “For service to the Motherland” of 3rd degree, 8 medals, including the medal “For merits before Motherland” of 2rd degree and also President’s thanks for the “excellence in social and labor sphere”.
Gregory Schneider was appointed Executive Vice President of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) in 2009, having joined the organisation in 1995. Mr. Schneider has overseen the creation and implementation of several Claims Conference individual compensation payment programs for Jewish victims of Nazism, and he also oversaw the creation of programs to compensate former refugees to Switzerland, survivors of the Nazi occupation of Budapest, and first-ever one-time payments to Nazi victims in the former Soviet Union.
Gilad Semama is Director-General of the Israeli Ministry for Senior Citizens. With a background in law, Mr. Semama has worked in the Israeli government since 2005 - first as an Intern and Attorney at the Department for International affairs of the office of the State Prosecutor, then as a Senior Advisor and acting Chief of Staff to the Justice Minister. He joined the Ministry for Senior Citizens in 2013 as its Chief of Staff. Mr. Semama holds an LLB from the College of Management and an LLM in Public Administration from Northwestern University and Tel Aviv University.
Kurt Wegscheidler joined the Austrian Social Ministry in 1976 and has worked in the administration of the Victims’ Welfare Act since 1981. As of the 1990’s, Mr. Wegscheidler has been the Head of the Social Compensation Department of the Social Ministry, responsible for legislation, administration, and supervision.
Dariusz Pawlos is Chairman of the Board of the Polish-German Reconciliation Foundation. He studied German studies at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin and has worked at the Foundation since 1995. Between 1998 and 2000, Mr. Pawlos participated in the international negotiations on compensation for forced laborers with representatives of the Federal Government and the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” (EVZ). He also participated in talks on compensation for forced laborers of the Third Reich with the Parliament of the Republic of Austria and Austrian business circles. In 2007, Mr. Pawlos launched the Office of the Commissioner for Polish-German Cooperation within the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Rachel Rimmer joined the Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah as Head of Communications in 2005, working closely with Simone Veil – the Foundation’s first President. In 2007, Ms. Rimmer created a weekly radio broadcast focusing on Shoah memory issues, which she still coordinates today. Since 2014, Ms. Rimmer has worked as Senior Program Associate for Welfare, in charge of supporting programs aimed at survivors. Prior to joining the Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah, Ms. Rimmer worked as a teacher, journalist, and PR consultant. Her academic background is in literature, humanities, and political science, which she studied at Sorbonne University and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris.
Michael Newman is Chief Executive of the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR), which represents and supports Holocaust refugees and survivors in Great Britain. He is a member of the UK delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), where he is a member of the steering committee of the Communications Working Group. As well as being an advisor on Holocaust restitution issues to the UK Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues - Sir Andrew Burns - Mr. Newman assists Holocaust survivors, refugees, and their families with applications for compensation and the recovery of Holocaust-era assets. In his spare time Mr. Newman is a Trustee of the Anglo-Jewish Association, on whose behalf he attends the annual board meetings of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Elisheva Flamm-Oren is the Director of Planning, Development, and Community Partnerships at Amcha - the National Israeli Center for Psychosocial Support of Holocaust Survivors and the Second Generation. Her responsibilities include researching and planning innovative programs to best serve Israeli Holocaust Survivors and their families, building and managing community partnerships, developing effective communication strategies, and resource development. She earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work - Administration, Management and Social Policy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has previously worked as Planning Director at UJA-Federation of New York’s Israel Office; Director of Community and Health Programs at the Jerusalem Foundation; and Lecturer and Researcher at the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Over the past decade, Ms. Flamm-Oren has been instrumental in developing the Israel Trauma Coalition to respond to terror and trauma and help build resilience in Israel; the Jewish Spiritual Care Network to pilot spiritual care and chaplaincy; and a national training program to develop Palliative Care and End of Life support programs in Israel.
Darina Sedláčková was active in the provision of care for Balkan war refugees and political asylum seekers in 90ties in the Czech Republic for over nine years. Between 2000 and 2009, she was a founding member and Head of the Office for Nazi Victims of the Czech-German Future Fund. For her commitment in the field of compensation payment program and Czech-German reconciliation, she was in 2007 awarded the “Cross of Merit on ribbon of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany”. In 2003, beside her work on compensation payment program, Ms. Sedláčková co-founded the non-governmental organization Živá paměť (Living Memory). Today she serves as Chairwoman of the Administrative Board and Coordinator of the Regional Contact Centers for Victims of Nazism and Intergenerational Dialogue in the Czech Republic and the Consortium of NGOs for the elderly. Between 2009 – 2010, she was a member of the International Preparatory Committee for the establishment of the ESLI and in 2010 became a member of the ESLI´s International Advisory Council (Working Group – Welfare of Holocaust Survivors and Other Victims of Nazi Persecution). She is a lead author of the expert study “The Current State of Care Provided to Holocaust Survivors and Other Victims of Nazi Persecution in the Czech Republic” (2011-2012). She presented this study on the international Social Welfare Workshop organized by the ESLI in 2013 at social facility at Hagibor, Prague. Recently, she is a member of the preparatory group for ESLI´s International Conference on Welfare for Victims of Nazism 2015.
Jutta Weduwen is the Executive Director of Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste, an international organisation working to raise awareness of the Shoah, as well as fighting racism, discrimination and anti-Semitism. She studied sociology and political sciences in Hamburg, Jerusalem and Berlin. Her work primarily focuses on history and diversity, Israel, anti-Semitism, and racism.
Galyna Poliakova is founder and Executive Director of the Ukrainian charity ‘Turbota pro Litnih v Ukraini’ (Age Concern Ukraine). She studied philology at Kiev State University and social policy at Kiev-Mohyla University, and is a member of the European Federation of Older People (EURAG) General Council.
Professor Felix Kolmer was born in Prague on 3rd May 1922 into the family of an Italian electrical engineer. Following his father’s death in 1932, Prof. Kolmer spent summer holidays with his uncle in Austria, where he witnessed firsthand the German annexation of Austria by the Nazis. An eager scout with an interest in electrical engineering, the rise of anti-Semitism forced Prof. Kolmer to abandon those pursuits and instead train as a carpenter’s apprentice. This training saw Prof. Kolmer included in the first transport of deported Jews to Terezín – the so-called ‘Aufbaukommando’, or construction commando - on 24th November 1941. It was in the Small Fortress of Terezin where Prof. Kolmer first witnessed the horrors of Nazi persecution and where, sadly, his mother died later that year. These events led Prof. Kolmer to become an active member of the underground resistance within Terezín, before ultimately being deported to Auschwitz on 16th August 1944. He was later transported again, this time to Friedland camp, where he survived to the end of the war. Following his liberation in 1945, Prof. Kolmer finally fulfilled his ambition of studying electrical engineering and became a world-renowned expert in acoustics. As a pioneer of this field in the Czech Republic, he regularly lectures at universities and has both written and co-authored numerous published works. He is dedicated to the fight for justice for the victims of Nazi persecution and has received several awards and state decorations for his commitment to this cause.
