Making History Alive Club Teaches About the Holocaust

“In 10 seconds, write down your three most valuable possessions,” commanded sophomore Gabe Rosen-Ahmed, as he guided ninth graders through a simulation activity about the Holocaust. “Authorities are at your door. It’s time to go. OK, got your list? Now crumple it up and toss it to the front of the room.” Historical photos of confiscated items flashed on the screen as he added, “Your items are gone forever.” Gabe talked about the intense confusion and fear as people were separated from family members and sent on trains in freezing cold weather without food or water. “How many of you wrote down food, water or a warm jacket?” Nobody raised their hand.

Gabe and other students from the LJCDS club Making History Alive (MHA) took turns presenting to all ninth-grade classes in conjunction with their English I reading of Maus, a Pulitzer-prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust. The MHA presentations included a discussion of Maus and the banning of books in schools, interactive activities designed to give students a glimpse into moral dilemmas, and personal stories, videos and photographs from the Berlin Experiential Education trip. Additionally, they had an extensive conversation about social media responsibility and impact, including a discussion about Kanye West’s recent tweets. 

MHA members study the history and lessons of the Holocaust in partnership with peers in Germany to inspire others their age to be upstanders rather than bystanders. Study of the Holocaust combines English, history, and citizenship lessons, develops their moral compass, and prepares them to contend with modern-day examples of prejudice and injustice.

“It’s impactful for the students to connect this to current-day events and be willing to discuss it with their peers,” says Upper School humanities educator Amy Parish, Ph.D. “It’s empowering for them to take on that teaching role—that’s the best way to master the material, and it teaches them skills they’re going to need in college.”

Sara Sigal ’23 shared a personal survivor story about her great-grandmother’s life before, during and after the Holocaust. Her great-grandmother was 19 when the war began, one of seven children in a large Jewish family. Sara shared three old family photos—“the only pictures she was able to escape with from before the war; and our only record of knowing what her parents looked like”—and a poignant image of the three (of seven) surviving siblings and two cousins. Sara explained how the trauma from the Holocaust still affects her family today: “My grandma, as the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, is very paranoid about where her family is and always wants the family to stay close together.” Sara’s story is a reminder that each of the 6 million Jews who were killed, along with millions of survivors, all have their individual stories of what happened.

In another assignment, students designed an eight-song playlist for Maus’ protagonist, Vladek, and wrote a letter explaining why they chose each song. “They worked on their letter-writing format, which is becoming a lost art,” explained Dr. Parish. “They learned about the salutation, where the date goes, and how to write an introductory paragraph explaining why they are sending a playlist and what they want Vladek to get out of it. It covered a lot of bases in one assignment and also gave them the freedom to express themselves as individuals. I really enjoyed reading their playlists.” 

“I think this generation is really willing to speak out,” says Dr. Parish. “Students are building a whole awareness of the problems that the world is facing, like inequities, and thinking about how we can grapple with that; how far we’ve come and how far we still need to go.”