Holocaust survivors' stories preserved through AI
Ivashkov, 96, was 11 years old when she rode what she said was the last train from Lithuania to Russia in 1941. Her train was bombed by German soldiers and her family walked for over ten days to reach Russia. After stops in Serbia and Kazakhstan and an eventual return to Lithuania after World War II, Ivashkov arrived in Las Vegas in 1980.
"I'm talking to let people know," Ivashov said as she sat at a table at Congregation Ner Tamid in Henderson on Sunday, where she was one of 20 Holocaust survivors encouraged to share their stories to younger generations.
The event was to commemorate Yom HaShoah, the day the Jewish community memorializes Holocaust victims, which was marked this year from Wednesday evening through Thursday. Afterwards, Holocaust educator Stephen Smith had a conversation with a hologram of Pinchas Gutter, who survived the Holocaust. Smith hopes that through using artificial intelligence, future generations will be able to have conversations with holocaust survivors past their death.
"Each year, as we mark this day, we find ourselves one step farther from the events of the Holocaust - but also one step closer to a moment when no survivors will remain to tell the story themselves," Rabbi Sanford Akselrad told the congregation.
Survivors' testimonies
Jackie Beer, 85, kept her story quiet for years. It wasn't until a few years ago that she was finally moved to share her story.
"Nobody should ever forget. We're it. We're the last generation," Beer said.
Beer was born in Ukraine to a mother who was murdered eight months later. She was raised in five orphanages and came to Las Vegas when she was 11 years old. She later worked as a dancer on the Strip, where she said she was one of two Jewish dancers at the time.
These days, Beer wears her Star of David necklace proudly. But sometimes, she said, she hides it beneath her clothing and clips it closer to her heart.
"I don't want to cause trouble," she said.
The number of antisemitic assaults, acts of vandalism and campus-related incidents in Nevada increased in 2024, according to a recent audit from the Anti-Defamation League.
In February, the American Jewish Committee published a report which it said showed an "alarming" increase in antisemitism.
Holocaust survivor hologram
Sunday's event closed with Smith's presentation about the use of artificial intelligence to facilitate conversations with Holocaust survivors, even after their death.
The project was conceived of by Smith's wife, Heather Maio, who wanted her grandchildren to be able to have the same type of personal conversation with Holocaust survivors that she was able to have.
"I am most hopeful that the world is going to be a better place than the one I lived in," Gutter's hologram told the congregation.
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13 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
German shepherd rescue group in Orange County hopes to fetch a miracle
Good morning. It's Wednesday, Aug 13. I'm Carol Cormaci, bringing you this week's TimesOC newsletter with a look at some of the latest local news and events from around the county. Smart, loyal and courageous by nature, German shepherds can be great pets. In fact, they are among the most popular breeds in the U.S. I grew up in a household with one and adored her, from her puppyhood through her old age. She was a fantastic companion and, even after she developed hip dysplasia, nothing could keep her from enthusiastically joining us on adventures. She was the first in the car when we headed out on road trips and the first to bound out the door when we arrived at our destination. Sadly, for a host of different reasons, some people who take a German shepherd into their homes come to the realization at some point they can no longer care for their beautiful canine. An astounding number of the shepherds are suddenly without a home and the situation has worsened recently, according to Marie Dales, founder and director of German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County. Dales first founded the organization in 1998 and by 2005 had turned it into an award-winning nonprofit that has to date rescued, rehabilitated and found new homes for more than 10,000 dogs, according to the Daily Pilot/TimesOC news feature published over the weekend. How many more years it will be able to keep its efforts going depends on whether it can find some major donors, or 'angels.' An infusion of cash is required to help pay for veterinary needs, pet food and boarding of the German shepherds, which have all risen by 30%, according to the story, at a time when the number of residents seeking placement of the dogs they can no longer care for has risen by 300% and the number of shelters reaching out to the nonprofit for help has grown by a whopping 500%. Donations, alas, are trending downward at a time when costs have skyrocketed. To make matters even worse, 'the phone lines and emails jam up with more requests than can be handled, adoption rates for their shepherds have plummeted 50% since before the pandemic to hit a 10-year low,' according to the story. 'Pets being surrendered because of their owners losing their job or income has tripled this year,' Dales told my colleague Gabriel San Román. 'We get requests every single day and the animal shelters are telling people to call the rescues because they're full. Shelters being so oversaturated is something we've never seen before.' So, German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County will launch a $100,000 'Sheptember' matching pledge campaign next month that can keep the Newport Beach kennel it runs operational. 'We're relying on hope and kindness,' Dales said. 'I never would have started this rescue if I didn't believe in the goodness of people and our ability to work our way out of this challenge.' • The city of Irvine on Aug. 3 reopened two former county libraries, Heritage Park and University Park, that were transformed into city branches. City officials say they will be able to provide greater funding to the libraries in hopes of improving services, according to this Daily Pilot/TimesOC story. An estimated $9 million a year in property taxes will fund the city system, roughly double what the county provided in 2024. The Katie Wheeler branch of the county library system is expected to be reopened as a city library early next year. • A Meritage Homes project that will bring 142 new residential units to property that was formerly home to Trinity Broadcasting Network was approved last week on a unanimous vote by the Costa Mesa City Council. In other actions, the panel voted to support Senate Bill 805, also known as the 'No Vigilantes Act,' a bill related to immigration enforcement efforts that would require local police to request identification and also make impersonating a law enforcement officer a misdemeanor offense. Further, the City Council allocated $100,000 to Enough for All, a coalition of Costa Mesa churches providing food and other assistance to Latino residents living in hiding from the ICE sweeps. • People taking in games at the Huntington Beach Sports Complex will be allowed to buy beer and wine at two of the site's outdoor patio areas, located at 18260 Goldenwest Street and 7300 Talbert Street, following two separate and equally narrow 4-3 votes of the city's planning commission. The decision is considered final unless it is appealed to the City Council. • La Habra is considering placing a moratorium on new smoke shops in town and tightening regulations on the 20 already existing ones, 70% of which opened in the past five years, according to this Daily Pilot/TimesOC story. 'I've walked through La Habra's [streets] for almost 10 years,' resident Norma Perez told the City Council during a public comment portion of its most recent meeting. 'We had very few smoke shops. Now, I walk through La Habra and there's one every two blocks.' • In March, well ahead of the June arrival in Orange County of immigration enforcement teams, an undocumented man named Arturo, who asked not to be fully identified out of concerns for his family's safety, self-deported from Anaheim to Tijuana alongside his wife and child, both of whom are U.S. citizens, to avoid any chance of family separation under the Trump administration. Since relocating, Arturo, 28, whose parents brought him from Mexico to the U.S. as a newborn, described the experience of being Mexican in Mexico as a 'peace' he has not felt before, my colleague Gabriel San Roman wrote in this feature story about the move. In fact, having the ability to rent a two-bedroom apartment for $500 is just one of the upsides to living south of the border. 'I've shown that you can come here to make a life,' Arturo said. 'If it's a viable option for others, I would tell them to come to Mexico, too.' • Andrew Do, the disgraced former Orange County supervisor convicted in a bribery scheme, owes the government $878,230.80, it was determined Monday by a federal judge, according to a City News Service report. In June, Do was sentenced to five years in prison, a term he is expected to begin Friday. • Amy Phan West, a member of the Westminster City Council who was in hot water after bribing a Westminster Police Department parking officer to keep her husband's parked Jeep from being towed on a city street, learned Monday she will be allowed to participate misdemeanor diversion program. As part of the agreement, Phan West will perform 20 hours of community service and take a two-hour ethics class, after which she can have the misdemeanor dropped. • And, in case you haven't read enough along the same lines, here's a third bribery case involving Orange County politics: Melahat Rafiei, a former Orange County Democratic Party leader and key witness in the FBI's O.C. political corruption probe who pleaded guilty to attempted wire fraud and admitted to attempted bribery, is expected to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha on Aug. 22. Federal prosecutors argued in recently filed court documents that she be given one-year probation and a $10,000 fine. • A 15-year-old girl who attended school in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District was fatally stabbed over the weekend in a gang-related incident in Costa Mesa, police reported. Allison Castillo was identified by the county coroner's office Monday as the teenager found collapsed in an outside courtyard on the 700 block of Shalimar Drive at around 12:30 p.m. Saturday by police. A student athlete, Castillo played soccer for two years with So Cal Select. The suspect in her stabbing, Matthew Juarez, 31, was traced to an Anaheim residence where police took him into custody; he was charged with her murder on Tuesday. Costa Mesa police detectives are asking anyone who may have information about Saturday's incident to contact Det. Eloisa Peralta at (714) 754-5039 or Investigator Eric Molina at (714) 754-5694. • A few other public safety news briefs reported by City News Service: — A woman was fatally struck late Saturday night by vehicles when she exited a car on the southbound side of the Santa Ana (5) Freeway at the Tustin Ranch Road offramp, according to the CHP. — Michelle Gutierrez, 36, was sentenced Friday to 16 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing her husband, Cesar Omar Reyes Zuno in their Santa Ana home on Jan. 21, 2021. — Firefighters quickly contained a vegetation fire in Santiago Canyon that was reported shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday. The blaze was kept to one-quarter of an acre before it was extinguished, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. • L.A. Times prep sports columnist Eric Sondheimer has put out his preseason Top 25 SoCal high school football rankings. No. 1 on the list is none other than Santa Ana's Mater Dei. Not far behind, at No. 3, is another O.C. private school, Orange Lutheran. • The United States Lifesaving Assn. National Lifeguard Championships returned to Huntington State Beach for the first time since 2010 last week. • Monster-faced plush dolls called Labubus have become the latest hot trend, first in South Korea and now across the U.S. My colleague Sarah Mosqueda was one of about 400 people who attended a special Labubu event held at Morning Lavender Cafe and Boutique in Tustin and learned first-hand just how popular these wild-looking creatures are. On Tuesday, the L.A. Times reported that $30,000 worth of the customizable Labubus were recovered in an Upland home by law enforcement authorities as part of an investigation into a series of thefts from a local warehouse. They were believed to be headed to the black market. • After teaching plastic fabrication and manufacturing for decades, Bob Schureman now organizes archaeological digs in the park for kids to find replica Sabertooth cat and Megalodon shark teeth in a sand box. Schureman has a wealth of knowledge in his field; from 1965-85 he taught industrial arts at Estancia High School and just a few years ago retired from ArtCenter College of Design where he taught materials fabrication and manufacturing. Last week, the Costa Mesa resident crafted molds from fossils kept at Los Angeles' La Brea Tar Pits, 'creating exact replicas of every fiber, crack and crevice in the original pieces,' according to this feature story, for children attending a day camp to dig up and keep as souvenirs. • Pacific Chorale's Choral Festival takes place at 5 p.m. this Sunday at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Robert Istad conducts and Jung-A Lee is the organist for this event, which brings together up to 400 members of Southern California's choral community to present a free public concert. Choose between pay-what-you-can general concert hall seating (no purchase required to reserve) and $50 limited-availability premium seating in the Box Circle. More details, including the program, can be found here • The three-day Sea Country Festival hosted by the Laguna Niguel Parks and Recreation Department will take place Friday, Aug. 22 through Sunday, Aug. 24 and will feature live music, rides, games and more. The festival is located on Dorine Road and El Lazo, between the Laguna Design Center and the Chet Holifield Federal Building. Hours are from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday and 2 to 9 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. To learn more, visit the city's website. Until next week,Carol We appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C. (photos welcome!) or comments to
a day ago
100-year-old World War II veteran flies same type of plane he flew in combat missions
David Muir shares the story of World War II veteran Joseph Peterburs and the moment he was cleared for takeoff at the controls of the same type of plane he flew 125 combat missions in.
2 days ago
David Muir shares emotional reunion between WWII veteran and fighter plane
"World News Tonight" anchor David Muir reported on a remarkable moment as a 100-year-old World War II fighter pilot returned to the skies over McKinleyville, California, taking the controls of the same type of aircraft he flew during combat missions more than seven decades ago. Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Joe Peterburs, who enlisted in 1942 at the age of 18, took to the air in a P-51 Mustang, the legendary fighter aircraft in which he flew 49 combat missions during World War II. The historic flight was made possible by the nonprofit organization "Rumble Over the Redwoods," dedicated to preserving aviation heritage and inspiring future generations. Peterburs' incredible military service spanned decades. After earning his pilot wings and becoming a second lieutenant, he faced numerous challenges during WWII, including being captured by German forces after an ejection and subsequently escaping. His service continued through the Korean War, where he flew 76 combat missions, and extended into the Vietnam era. He ultimately retired as a colonel in 1969. During the commemorative flight, Peterburs demonstrated that his adventurous spirit hadn't dimmed with age. Observers watched in amazement as the aircraft performed a roll, with the centenarian veteran and his pilot briefly flying upside down, waving from high in the sky. After landing, Peterburs was visibly moved by the experience. "It was a really exhilarating experience and brought back a lot of memories," he told ABC News. The veteran pilot also shared a powerful message for future generations: "To maintain what we have today, you got to do your best. Do your best in whatever you endeavor. And I wish you a lot of luck." The flight served as both a personal milestone for Peterburs and a powerful reminder of what World War II veterans did for our country.
