The Holocaust Survivor Project: New Ways to Reach the Next Generation
“I had a torrent of urgent things to tell the world.”
—Primo Levi, The Reawakening
Survivor testimony is one of the most powerful connections that students make to the lessons of the Holocaust. In response to the fact that our precious Holocaust survivor network is growing older, Facing History has found new ways to bring their stories to students and add new dimensions to survivor classroom visits. Last summer, we launched new web pages about some of the survivors who regularly speak in Facing History classrooms. These pages provide a biography, photo gallery, video clips, and links to other resources.
Facing History has developed pages for Sonia Weitz and Dr. Maurice Vanderpol, and one for Rena Finder is coming soon. Teachers have begun to use these pages in a variety of ways—to prepare students for a classroom visit when that is possible, and to help students connect in a personal and meaningful way when the classroom visit is not possible. Miriam Morgenstern who teaches Facing History at Lowell High School has noted the impact of bringing survivor stories into her classroom.
"Many of my students are the children of survivors of the Pol Pot regime (during the Cambodian Genocide). While some of their parents share their stories, many do not. They are fearful their American children will not understand,” said Morgenstern. “Survivor testimony in the classroom creates a connection between the student and parent and allows students to explore their own personal identity."
Facing History is tapping into the stories and experiences of the children and grandchildren of survivors as well. The New England office is offering a training series entitled Gather to Learn to help 2nd and 3rd generation survivors preserve the legacy of their families, and share lessons from the Holocaust. This training will also expand our network of speakers who are participating in a pilot project in which a survivor is paired with a 2nd or 3rd generation survivor to speak to students.
“The discussions that students have following one of these classroom visits is an important reminder of the power these stories have to help students think more deeply about history and how it relates to their own choices today and in the future,” says Fran Coletti, Director, New England office.
