Book

I Promised I Would Tell

Survivor Sonia Schreiber Weitz bears witness to the Holocaust through poetry and testimony in this powerful memoir.

Subject

English & Language Arts
History

Language

English — US

Updated

September 26, 2022

The Holocaust

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I Promised I Would Tell

ISBN: 0-9615841-3-0

Date of Publication: December 2022

Format: Print Book

Cost: $10.00

This book is available for purchase from most places you buy books, including major retailers and independent bookstores.

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Holocaust educator and survivor Sonia Schreiber Weitz has been called “a survivor with a poet’s eye.” I Promised I Would Tell is her memoir telling her story of survival through more than two dozen poems in which she bears witness to the unspeakable. Through poetry and testimony, Weitz gives life to the millions of children, men, and women who were murdered during the Holocaust.

Born in Krakow, Poland, Weitz was 11 years old when her family and other Polish Jews were herded into ghettos. Of the 84 members of her family, she and her sister Blanca were the sole survivors of years in ghettos and concentration camps. She turned to poetry at an early age to cope with her emotions.

Unit

This curriculum is designed for Tennessee and Southeast educators teaching a high school elective course on the history of the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide.

Teacher and student interact at Memphis' Student Leadership Fall Conference.

Activity

Students practice gratitude by naming and recording three good things that have happened that day.

Two students look to the front of the classroom with smiles on their faces.

Activity

Students use poetry as a spark for reflection and discussion about what’s happening in their lives and the world.

Four students in conversation with each other in a classroom.

Activity

Students practice debate and perspective taking by taking a stand on a controversial statement.

Students move around the classroom in conversation with each other. One student looks directly into the camera with a smile on their face.

Activity

Students reflect on the day by asking them to share an appreciation, an apology, and an “aha” moment.

Activity

Students identify one personal or academic goal that they would like to commit to in the week ahead.

A Facing History journal sits on top of a student guide for Choices in Little Rock.

Activity

Students reflect on the past year and generate ideas for the kind of learning community and learning experiences they are hoping for this year.

Activity

Students consider what parts of our identities we choose for ourselves and what parts are chosen for us, as well as the impact our names can have on our identities.