Neither Yesterdays Nor Tomorrows

by George J Elbaum

Zespol Szkol No. 2, Gimnazjum No. 3 (ZSG) is a high school located in Swidnik, a town approximately 10 km. from Lublin, Poland.  In 1997 the school launched its international student exchange program with several European high schools and in 2007 it broadened it to include the Charles Wright Academy (CWA) in Tacoma, WA.  The program at ZSG is one week long, with focus on the students’ social and cultural interaction in joint (hosts + visitors) activities and projects in art, music, dance and drama.  ZSG has also invited speakers on important issues of human rights, tolerance and justice, including Carl Wilkens on the Rwanda genocide (he was the only American to remain in Rwanda after the genocide began) and this year my talk on the Holocaust.  Visiting groups usually consist of a dozen students with one or two teachers, and they are housed by families of students in the host school.  The Swidnik event this year included 15 students from the Netherlands, 15 from Belgium, 6 from Germany, 8 from the US (CWA), and 44 from ZSG.  It was organized by ZSG teacher Ula Burda with support from teacher Marcin Pasnikowski and several others (see below) , and active involvement by ZSG Principal Ewa Darwicz.

During CWA’s Global Teen Summit in September 2012 I met the ZSG students and teachers Marcin Pasnikowski and Anna Szewczyk, and I was asked if I had been back to Poland and/or was I planning to do so.  These were the same questions I had been asked after my talks at many other schools, and my answer has always been that I do not revisit the past, physically or mentally, a habit which I might have learned for emotional survival during the Holocaust (thus “Neither Yesterdays Nor Tomorrows”), and therefore I do not plan to return to Poland.  After my talk, Anna Szewczyk privately asked if, despite my negative answer, I would consider coming to Poland to speak at the ZSG event being planned for mid-May 2013.  I thanked her for the invitation but I still declined as it would be revisiting the past.  She understood my feeling, but nevertheless asked gently if we could maintain contact by email, and I agreed.  Several weeks later she emailed me that she hoped it was not an intrusion on my privacy, but she had found on the web an archived 1939 Warsaw phone book, and in it a page with my father’s name, profession, address and phone number, and was attaching that page to her email.  When I opened the attachment and saw my father’s name in a mundane phone book page, it suddenly made him much more a real person than he had ever been for me, and I choked up!  After staring at his name a few minutes, I answered Anna’s email that I would come to the ZSG event.

….. And I am very glad that I did – the response, both from the students and the teachers was very, very gratifying!

by George J Elbaum

Somerville High School (SHS) is a public 4-year high school that prides itself on being “the Lab School of the 21st Century.”  Its stated primary goal is to prepare its 1300+ students to “lead satisfying and successful lives by helping them to become effective readers, effective writers, effective users of technology, and effective critical and creative thinkers.”  Furthermore, the education it offers its students sets the same high standards in both college prep academics and in vocational training.  SHS does this with the most diverse student body – in cultures, languages (50), nationalities, and aspirations (with one of three integrated vocational programs in the state) – and the richest range of in and out of school activities in Greater Boston.

SHS was reorganized in 2006 into a House System to: (a) improve connectivity between students and professional adults at SHS, and (b) provide a “home base” for core student support services for both students and parents.  The House System provides a smoother transition for incoming Grade 9 students and all transfer students.  In the Houses, Assistant Principals and Guidance Counselors collaboratively support students across their SHS careers, inform parents of important developments in their student’s education, and bring students together with one another and professional adults who can help them achieve their highest potential.  Results of this close and multi-faceted collaboration include such unique programs as the award-winning Somerville Mediation Program which annually trains and deploys student mediators to resolve peer conflicts peacefully, and the annual student-planned and run Multicultural Festival celebrating the more than 52 ethnic groups represented at SHS.  (One tangible result of the Multicultural Festival is the Somerville High School Multicultural Cookbook containing 135 recipes from 39 countries!)

SHS diversity and social awareness is also manifested in having worked closely with Facing History and Ourselves for the past 12 years, offering a year-long Facing History elective class about the Holocaust and other genocides. This class is currently being taught by history teacher Mark Quinones, and one of its highlights is the final “judgment, memory, and legacy” project wherein students create and display Holocaust memorials every spring.  My presentation was organized and arranged by Alicia Kersten, Head of SHS Social Studies Department, and Judi Bohn of Facing History.

by George J Elbaum

St. Rose School is a small inner city Catholic school dedicated to educating children of all races, creeds, and nationalities. It prides itself in being “a close knit community that not only embraces the diversity of its students and parents but respects it as well.”  With approximately 250 students in grades pre-K through 8, St Rose strives “to meet the needs of our students and their families through works of love, mercy, and justice since 1872.”  Its diverse student body gives the students a strong sense of appreciation for human differences, a value they will hopefully carry for the rest of their lives.  Towards that goal, St. Rose students start every morning with prayer and a PeaceBuilders Pledge, wherein they pledge “To praise people; To give up put-downs; To seek wise people; To notice and speak up about hurts we have caused; To right wrongs; To help others; To build peace at home, at school, and in our community each day.”  The aim of this PeaceBuilders program is “a common language about the kind of behavior we expect in our school.  This not only supports the Gospel values we study in religion class, but actively seeks to prevent bullying in our school community.”

To further that goal, St. Rose now includes the study of the Holocaust with support of Facing History and Ourselves, and teacher Matt Schell organized my visit together with Judi Bohn of Facing History.  I truly appreciated Matt’s serious approach to this subject and his subsequent statement to me to me that he will “never forget the message ‘Never again’ in regard to Holocaust denial.”

A week after my talk I received in the mail 27 colorful and imaginative ”Thank you” cards made by Matt’s students.  All were very heartfelt, but one in particular made me smile and wish its writer success: “I want to thank you for teaching me that you can do anything if you work for it, like being accepted to MIT, which is my goal just like it was yours!”

by George J Elbaum

Arroyo High School in San Lorenzo, across the bay from San Francisco, has approximately 2000 students and high diversity, with 34% Latino, 30% White, 27% Asian and Filipino, 7% African-American, and 2% other ethnic or racial groups. Having visited it last year (one year and one day ago!), I looked forward to an enthusiastic and well-prepared audience, and I was not disappointed.  I observed with great pleasure how the enthusiasm of teacher Jorja Santillan transfers to her students.  As last year, she had already prepared the students through her Facing History-based unit focusing on Elie Wiesel’s Night.

 Ms. Santillan and her students are part of a small learning community, Future Leaders for Social Change, within the larger high school; there are three other academies at Arroyo, each with a focus of its own.  The Future Academy, as it is often called, is known for attention to broadening its students’ exposure to the wider community. One example is that when the students study a subject such as the Holocaust, they not only explore its historical context but also read a memoir, meet a scholar or survivor, and consider contemporary issues related to what they have studied.

In April, the group will take a field trip to San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum, where they will learn something about Jewish life today. Jack Weinstein, of Facing History, who arranged for my presentation at Arroyo both last year and this year, will accompany the group. He says, “The students do an in-depth study of the Holocaust, and it may be among the most moving explorations of their high school experiences. And their visit to the Museum will teach them that Jewish life is vibrant, diverse, and present in their own society, and that there is more to know about this subject than the Holocaust alone.”

Letters from Students

After the students’ visit to the Contemporary Jewish Museum with teacher Jorja Santillan and Jack Weinstein I received a large envelope with over 60 letters from them.  As has become our habit by now, after dinner my wife Mimi read each letter aloud while I listened and absorbed it, mentally and emotionally. We were both touched by the students’ openness and sensitivity as reflected in the letters, and we felt very gratified by their responses to my story. Statements from these letters that particularly resonated with us are excerpted below.

• Hearing your story makes me want to make the world a better place.  You have inspired me, and I am extremely grateful to have had this opportunity.
• Your story taught us to be tolerant, to stand up for others, and never be hateful.  For that I thank you.
• Now that I have heard your story I feel that I should share it with others.
• With your visit I learned that innocence is not as bad as high school students make it seem.  It is a part of you that continuously saved you.
• I learned from you the name of something that I will never forget because I believe in it myself: The Golden Rule.
•  I never went through a hard situation that could equal your years of pain but I understand your stuttering.
• I think that if I was risking my life for something that I believe was fair, I would rather die trying to fight for justice than let go the opportunity to do the right thing.
• After hearing your story I felt that I’ve been taking things for granted.  I feel kinda guilty because I have food in my house but when I get home I say there is nothing to eat.
• Your whole story made me very grateful for the life I have right now.
• You have impacted me to not forget your story and to keep an open mind.
• I’ve gone through a really tough time since my parents’ divorce, but hearing your story made me feel that it wasn’t bad compared to what you endured during the Holocaust.  I also appreciate my parents a lot more.
• I think everyone in the room who heard your story has the responsibility to tell its truth to our future children, and to anyone who doesn’t believe in that truth, because it is      history, a horrible period that no one should forget or try to erase.
• Thanks for coming and for opening our minds a bit more.
• When you told us how you defended Jews but felt ashamed to be one when learning that you were, I thought of my background and I realized that I was doing the same, so I thank you for opening my eyes to not be ashamed of who I am.
• I was truly touched by your story of  survival, and felt water building in my eyes time and time again.  I cannot imagine having the strength to overcome such landscape of despair.
• I’ll do my best to tell the people after me what I experienced and learned during the time you shared with my class.  You did not tell us only your own story but also about humanity and how to be better people.
• I felt hatred and pity towards the Nazis even if I’m not Jewish, and resent them for all the inhumane things they did.  Even if the war ended there is still pain and tears to shed.  There’s never enough time or too late to mourn.
• I honestly wish I could have the power to take away all the horrible things that happened.
• When you were talking I felt scared myself.
• I learned that I should follow my dreams to become anything I want, and to not take anything for granted, like my family, friends, or life.  And for that I thank you, sir, for opening my eyes.
• What makes me think the most from what you said is what if this happened today?  Who would you try to save, or would you just save yourself?  I honestly don’t know what I would do in such a horrible situation.
• What we do now will reflect the world that will be inherited.
• Your story has changed me to want to help people in need, like the families that helped you and your mom.
• I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip to Poland.  Eat many sweet pastries for me!

by George J Elbaum

Amador Valley High School (AVHS) has set a challenging question for its 2700 students to explore: “How will you A.I.D. your world?” wherein A stands for Academic Achievement, I for Innovative Thinking, and D for Demonstration of Civic Responsibility.  The school success in academic achievement is shown by being deemed a three-time California Distinguished School, a National School of Character, and a two-time National Blue Ribbon School.  The Daily Beast/Newsweek ranked Amador Valley High School 238th in its 2012 list of the 1,000 Best High Schools in America.  This success in academics is paralleled in AVHS’s extracurricular activities such as music, theater, and athletics, as well as the development of civic awareness and responsibility in its students.  In national competitions such as We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, the Amador Valley team has ranked in the top four places many times.

In developing the students’ civic responsibility, a strong multi-week exploration of the Holocaust, its historical context and its literature, including Elie Wiesel’s Night, are an integral part of teacher Stacey Sklar’s Honors Sophomore English.  (Ms. Sklar is among the teachers in Pleasanton’s schools who have accessed training and resources from Facing History and Ourselves over several years.)  To augment the Holocaust study, Ms. Sklar and Jack Weinstein of Facing History organized my visit to AVHS.  The students were very well prepared and the schedule was for the usual 90 minutes of presentation and Q&A, but their interest and enthusiasm were such that we continued an impromptu discussion and Q&A while standing in a group for almost another hour – it was very gratifying!

(Help with replacing the ?? below with students’ names, pls?)

the whole group!

Jack Weinstein’s introduction

by George J Elbaum

Moreau Catholic High School is a college preparatory Roman Catholic secondary school established in 1965 by the Congregation of the Holy Cross.  With college preparation as a focus for its 900 students, the results are admirable: of the recent graduating class, 100% went to college, 50% received at least one Merit-Based Scholarship/Award, and over 75% scored 3 or higher on their AP exams.  As a result of this academic strength, Moreau was one of only 8 schools in California and 54 schools nationwide to be selected as a 2010 Apple Distinguished School, recognized for educational excellence through use of technology across its curriculum to provide its students with the 21^st century skills needed to succeed.

However, as a community of faith, the school also prepares its students through social and spiritual learning to become responsible citizens of the global community.  Thus, as part of its humanistic and liberal arts curriculum, Moreau’s 10^th grade English class includes a study of the Holocaust as taught by teacher Samantha Wainwright, who arranged my talk together with Jack Weinstein of Facing History and Ourselves.  She prepared her students for my talk through reading of Eli Wiesel’s Night, the Terezin poetry collection, and a variety of stories of victims, survivors and perpetrators, plus viewing applicable propaganda posters, watching the movie Life is Beautiful, etc.  My talk was also attended by the school’s assistant principal, Matthew Stadelman.

by George J Elbaum

Lick-Wilmerding High School’s uniqueness today is based on its history of 139 years.  Founded in 1874 as the California School of Mechanical Arts, LWHS today is nationally recognized as the only independent school in the nation that offers students a rigorous college preparatory curriculum plus unparalleled courses in the Technical Arts.  This “head, heart, and hands” curriculum consists of the usual spectrum of academic courses (English literature, history, math, the sciences, foreign languages) plus the Technical Arts: Design & Technology and shop classes in electronics, fabrications, glass, jewelry/metal art, and woodworking.  Culture is also represented at LWHS, with classes in architecture, animation/film/video, drawing/painting, photography and sculpture, plus Performing Arts (dance, instrumental and vocal music, and theatre), as are athletics (including a rock climbing wall).  The school strives to be an inclusive community, so its student body of approximately 450 includes more than 50% students-of-color and more than 40% of LWHS families benefit from the school’s Flexible Tuition program.  Because of its reputation for educational and cultural quality, the school’s acceptance rate of 15% is comparable with that of the nation’s top colleges.

My presentation at LWHS was organized by teacher Mary Finn as part of her History course “Genocide and Human Behavior: Facing History and Ourselves” and was arranged by Katie Cook of the Jewish Family and Children’s Services.

Letters from Students

A week after my visit to Lick-Wilmerding High School I received a large envelope with letters from the students who attended my talk.  When our calendar cleared a few days later and we had a quiet evening at home, after dinner my wife Mimi read each letter aloud while I listened and absorbed it, mentally and emotionally.  Reading the first letter we were both amazed by the depth of understanding it exhibited about the Holocaust, and how well the writer internalized and related it to her own life, including the internal conflict of feeling fear vs. sense of obligation in being a “bystander” vs. an “upstander” in dangerous circumstances.  When similar understanding and sensitivity were exhibited by more letters, with similarly insightful statements, we realized that this could only result from an excellent preparation before my talk, and afterwards a meaningful class discussion led by their teacher, Mary Finn.  This echoes the truism that excellent students result from excellent teachers, so thank you, Ms. Finn.

In reading these letters we highlighted the statements that particularly resonated with us, and these are excerpted below.

• Hearing your experiences, especially about the unpleasantness of some of your host families, gave me a fuller understanding of the variety and diversity of situations that different hidden children experienced.  This made me ponder on the complexities of being an up-stander at the time.  Every hidden child’s story is different.
• I had heard of (the ghetto) uprising, but had no understanding of the weight of its meaning, that civilians fought against trained German troops with no chance of winning, in “hopeless act of defiance” just so they would die fighting instead of in a gas chamber.
• I had no idea that in Poland, even after the war was over, pogroms occurred that targeted surviving Jews – Jews that had been hidden by other Poles who risked their own lives to save them.  This paradox is so hard for me to wrap my head around.
• I do believe that as a witness to a Holocaust survivor, I have an obligation to fight and counter Holocaust deniers.
• When you shared the story about the little dog, your story became very real, and the weight of what you went through really settled in.
• Listening to your story made me question my strength, my resilience, and my ability to endure something as horrible as the Holocaust.  I learned that being an up-stander is a lot harder than just thinking that you would do something to help someone.
• I feel confident that I will spread awareness and knowledge to those who come after me, because I can say: “I have met a Holocaust survivor, and here is what he would want you to know.”
• When you said your mother was able to get a “temporary permit to continue living” (made me think that) the idea that one human being has enough power over another to give them a “permit to continue living” is despicable.
• You reminded me of my privilege when you said: “In America, if you want something bad enough and you’re willing to work for it, you can do it.”  I often forget how appreciative I should be for my privilege and I want to start better utilizing my opportunities.
• If I am ever in a compromising position, I hope I will remember your words and be an upstander.
• Your story made me realize that we only have each other to look out for, and although being an upstander can be hard, it’s the upstanders that change lives.  It seems usually when it’s the hardest to stand up is when others need you to stand up the most.
• It is fascinating to me now to think of how the citizens of Germany redefined themselves after being forced to choose.
• There is no way to determine whether a person will be a bystander or upstander until they are forced into the situation.
• Your story taught me a great deal about being a human being, and how we cope with incredibly difficult circumstances.
• Considering the potential consequences of being found out, it is hard to say whether or not I would be brave enough to hide another family, knowing that it could result in the death of my own family.  I have tremendous amount of respect for all the families who took such risk in order to do the right thing.
• It’s hard to imagine what life would be like living in constant fear of your life and being born into a world where you are publicly hated.
• After hearing this story, I believe that I have an obligation to be cognizant and appreciative of my privileges in all aspects of my life, and to never take things for granted.
• I did not fully realize that denial is inevitable in all genocides because that it the coping mechanism that some people use.
• Your experiences made me thing a lot about obligation.  This sense of obligation also begs the question of how much is enough?  Is it enough for someone to take in a stranger…. but not to treat them fairly and kindly?
• I was intrigued by your question about whether we would be willing to risk our lives in order to save the life of a stranger.  This question made me think of the moral obligation an individual has to another individual just for being human.
• I have a greater appreciation for the fact that genocide last far longer, (beyond) the surrender of the perpetrators; the harm done to the young in their formative years can stifle the identity of future generations.
• How do we make upstanding individuals a majority?  Is such a shift impossible for…. humankind?