1. What is one thing you always make sure to tell your students about the Holocaust?

The Holocaust didn’t happen in just one day. It was something that took years of propaganda and social/government pressures to come to fruition.

2. What are some activities that your students are participating in to learn about the Holocaust?

We are reading Refugee by Alan Gratz in my 8th grade classes. One of the main characters in the novel is a refugee from Nazi Germany. I have the students research various aspects of the Holocaust to help them understand the setting and characters’ experiences.

3. What special opportunity did you provide to your students for them to learn more about the Holocaust?

I applied and received the Mark Schonwetter Holocaust Education Foundation's Grant for $1,000. With those funds, my students took a virtual tour of Auschwitz Concentration camp. We will also use those funds to add Holocaust related books to the school library’s collection.

4. Do you think our lifestyle would be different if we never knew about the Holocaust? If so, why?

I think that learning about our past helps us to prevent the same mistakes in our future. We can’t ignore past mistakes.

5. Has the Holocaust affected you in any specific way?

The human aspect of the lives lost and changed by their experiences in the Holocaust are obviously impactful and important to create empathy for others. I think an important aspect of this event is the way in which normal people were able to be convinced to turn on and ignore the prosecution of their former friends and neighbors. I see people today who easily believe sound bites and things posted on social media as truth. Many times, these quotes are out of context or simply incorrect. It makes the ability to research and think even more important than it has ever been. A quote that I like to share with my students is written by Martin Niemoller in 1950 – “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out – Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out – Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.”