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Author, speaker, Holocaust survivor and humanitarian Luna Kaufman was the 2009 recipient of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ, in recognition for her outstanding work in developing Jewish-Christian relations. The degree coincided with release of her memoir, Luna's Life: A Journey of Forgiveness and Triumph, in which she shares her personal experiences from her childhood in Poland to her adulthood that led her across three continents.
As a survivor of four years in concentration camps, Luna was fortunate to emerge with her mother and return to her hometown of Krakow, Poland determined to resume her life. Calling upon a tenacity that has characterized her life, Luna set out to complete her education that was interrupted prior to WWII while in the sixth grade. She managed to graduated from high school, followed by attaining a degree in musicology from one of Europeís oldest universities, Jagelonian University in Krakow, Poland.
As she wrote in her memoir, "Those who know freedom understand the responsibilities that accompany this great value."
Her first hurdle toward fulfilling those responsibilities was to escape from the Communist regime in Poland. Eventually, accompanied by her mother, an inseparable life's partner, they embarked on a three-day journey across Western Europe to Venice as one of the first Jewish groups permitted to leave the Iron Curtain. The train was sealed and guarded to prevent any passenger from escaping. In Venice, they were herded aboard a ship taking them to Israel.
After spending two years in Israel, Luna immigrated to the United States. Upon her arrival Luna quickly adapted to this very different culture. Despite her limited English, she was hired by a New York bank. Since typing was a requirement of the job and with her indomitable spirit (ìThere are few obstacles I cannot imagine finding ways to conquer.), she taught herself over a weekend on a rented typewriter. From that point forward, Luna absorbed all the information about the American lifestyle that her co-workers offered.
Following her marriage and becoming a mother of three children, Luna moved her family to Watchung, NJ where, after five years of being separated from her mother, the two were finally reunited when her mother finaly received a visa to the States. In the 1960s, Luna launched a remarkable career of civic accomplishments, first as a board member of the League of Women Voters and as Girl Scout leader who began to introduce Jewish traditions to Christian children and Christian traditions to Jewish children. Luna soon began lecturing on the topic of the Holocaust, emphaszing ìHow we lived, not how we died,î and helped organize the first Holocaust seminar for New Jersey public school teachers.
Elected as the first woman president in the 80-year-history of Temple Sholom in Plainfield, NJ, she was instrumental in commissioning ìFlame,î a Holocaust memorial sculpture by internationally renowned sculptor Natan Rapoport. At the sculptureís installation, New Jersey Governor Thomas H. Kean announced the formation of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education and appointed Luna as a charter member. The sculpture now hangs in the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park, New York City.
Luna's work with Governor Kean led to her appointment as a co-chairman for the installation of ìLiberation,î another Rapoport sculpture of an American soldier carrying a limp survivor as he liberated a concentration camp. The unvailing attracted thousands of participants including ambassadors of many nationsand, today, overlooks the Statue of Liberty at New Jerseyís Liberty State Park. ìThis tribute to American G.I.s, an expression of gratitude, was a concept very dear to me,î says Luna.
Lunaís dedicated accomplishments have touched many facets of American life. Culturally, she served as president of the New Jersey State Opera, producing ìFrederic Douglas,î an opera by Ulysses Kay, and she has served on the Newark Mayor's Task Force for the development of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. An avid skier, Luna was a volunteer housing coordinator for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY.
Luna's commitment to freedom and human rights is manifested in her constant efforts to promote an understanding of both he horrors of the Holocaust and as well as the sacrifices of the righteous Christians. Commited to fostering interfaith and interracial respect and harmony, she has worked tirelessly with the late Sister Rose Thering, a former nun and professor at Seton Hall University and one of the world's most outspoken advocates of religious accordóhaving led 58 trips to Israel to acquaint Christian leaders with the country. Sister Rose was one of the principal catalysts in the 1963 repudiation of anti-Semitism by Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council.
In 200X Seton Hall established the Sister Rose Thering Endowment for Jewish-Christian studies. Luna, who has said, ìMy greatest desire is to be a Jewish counterpart of Sister Rose,î is a past chair of the Endowment. Today, Luna continues to strive for that accomplishment with her message of Jewish-Christian understanding.
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