We will talk a little in class about Petr and Ilan Ramon (the first Israeli astronaut who was killed in the Columbia space shuttle accident). I have been so moved by different stories I have discovered about their connection. Below are a few quotes and the picture. Please feel free to comment on this topic.
"Being the first Israeli astronaut -- I feel I am representing all Jews and all Israelis," Ramon said. Referring to his mother and grandmother, who both survived imprisonment in Auschwitz, he added, "I'm the son of a Holocaust survivor -- I carry on the suffering of the Holocaust generation, and I'm kind of proof that despite all the horror they went through, we're going forward."
"Speaking to the New York-based American Society for Yad Vashem from the Houston, Texas Space Centre where he was in training, Ilan Ramon said, "I feel that my journey fulfills the dream of Petr Ginz 58 years on. A dream that is ultimate proof of the greatness of the soul of a boy imprisoned within the ghetto walls, the walls of which could not conquer his spirit. Ginz's drawings, stored at Yad Vashem, are a testimony to the triumph of the spirit."
I wanted to commemorate the spirit of both these great souls, Ilan and Petr, by repainting young Petr's landscape in such a way as to show both of them, side by side, looking on the Earth from the vantage point of the dream they shared...as I like to think they now are. You can see the results of my efforts below.
The next time you look at the stars, think of them. They died so that one day, our children may turn to look at the distant Earth and see the pain and strife of this life in it's proper perspective. "
Barry Munden, Feb.1, 2003
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