Prior to hearing and reading about various Holocaust survivors' experiences, my knowledge of the Holocaust did not extend beyond the facts that were within our history books. I knew the story of Adolf Hitler, the transportation of the Jews to the concentration camps, that there were gas chambers and death marches. I knew the story of Elie Wiesel and Anne Frank, both who endured the concentration camp, with only one of the two surviving the camps. What I didn't realize was that Holocaust survivors don't have the same story, each story is unique, bound by a common thread in the sense they are all survivors of an event that can only be described as atrocious, yet they have a more positive persona than I would have anticipated. If there is anything I could take away from learning about each of their story, is that to never let even the worst moment destroy your life, that there is a way out of the darkness, that happiness is still within reach, no matter how low your life has stooped to.
Each survivor that I have read about or listened to feel they have a job to do. They feel it is their job, their sense of duty to share with as many people their story in hopes it will help to combat the conspiracy theorists who say the Holocaust never happened, and to help people understand why we must "never forget" in order for it to "never again" happen.
Suly Chenkin shared a story of how she was born in the ghettos during the Holocaust. In order to give her her best chance, her parents smuggled her out of the ghettos with a friend they trusted. Her parents were deported from the ghettos to the camps and Suly was raised with a family friend. Her parents were sent to labor camps and endured the death marches. Yet, after the Holocaust ended, her parents reunited, found her, and were able to be a family again. She told us that it took a long time for her to share her story, and it wasn't until after her parents' death that she felt she needed to share her experience. Suly is a vibrant woman with a lot of life within her. When she speaks, she speaks with such compassion for her audience and there is no sense of hardness within her.
Esther Ledderman has been through so much during the Holocaust. According to her video, she lost her family during the Holocaust - her father to a labor camp, and her mother and sister were "cleansed" out of the city they were staying in, never to be seen again. She did not endure the camps because she went into hiding with her boyfriend's family. However, the fact she lost her family in such a way, and yet remains to have a positive light around her speaks volumes about her character. It is amazing to see how someone who experienced so much lost at a young age (14 years old) can still go on to live a vibrant life with a husband and children and live life to its fullest. When she speaks, she has such a kindness about her, as if the Holocaust experience did not harden her in any way.
The one thing learning about the different stories taught me is that the Holocaust is more than just facts. There's so many different parts to the Holocaust we cannot begin to understand the complexity of it all. People were affected in many different ways, whether they endured the camps, were separated from family, lost friends, or aided people. Whatever we learn in our history class is only a small idea of the Holocaust. Whatever story we read is only one person's account of the Holocaust and should not and must not represent the Holocaust as a whole.
It amazes me that two survivors of the Holocaust are not "hard" from their experiences. Perhaps it means that as time goes by, the hurt and anger fades. The way the two survivors spoke along with the various stories I read about and watched, each survivor emphasized the fact the Holocaust was one moment in their time - it was not and is not their entire life. We should take to heart when we go through our own dark period that it is only one moment in our life, that it will get better, we just need to make it through and then make sure that dark period doesn't destroy who we are at the core of our beings.
Lesson objectives:
Students will analyze stories from different mediums (text andvideo clip) and evaluate the details emphasized in each medium. Students will provide support(evidence) for analysis of the differentmediums. Students will use proper grammar and spelling on theirpresentation and blog post.
