Bringing History to Life: The Holocaust Through Personal Stories

In observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Taub visited Masters to share her story and childhood mementos with the upper school community during an assembly. 

“The most powerful moment for me was when Ms. Taub pulled out her shoe from when she was two years old and walked in after getting off the train,” Julia Panos ’27 said. “This really humanized her experiences and put into perspective just how little she was during this era of evil that surrounded her.”

Taub’s visit was coordinated by Miriam Emery, upper school English Department chair, and Kelly Fives, an educator who specializes in Holocaust and genocide education. Fives opened the assembly with a presentation examining media coverage of the Holocaust, particularly in the United States.

“As we learned during the presentation, only an estimated 196,600 Holocaust survivors are still alive today,” Emery said. “That means that this will be the last generation to hear first-hand accounts of the Holocaust; many students whom I spoke with after the event mentioned how meaningful that was to them.”

Hearing Taub’s personal account in person left an impression on Panos: “I was able to learn specific details about Aristides de Sousa Mendes (the Portuguese diplomat recognized as a hero for saving the lives of many Jewish refugees) and barriers to leaving France even before it was occupied by the Nazis. It was extremely important to hear from a survivor about whether she thinks something as horrific as the Holocaust could ever happen again, and where she finds resemblance or signs of scapegoating happening today. Instead of drawing our own parallels or making assumptions, we were able to hear the perspective of someone who experienced the world then and the world today.”

Panos was also moved by Fives’ discussion about the media: “One message that I think all students should take away is that awareness and education are absolutely critical to ensuring that a genocide like the Holocaust does not ever happen again. I also think that based on what we discussed about media representation, students should approach news and journalism thinking critically about what they are reading, and making sure they are getting the actual facts with current events on domestic as well as global politics.” 

Emery noted, “Each year we try very hard to present a story about the Holocaust that is both relevant to today, historically accurate and meaningful. We want to honor the memory of those who perished during the Holocaust, those who stood up to defeat the Nazis and those who lived through the tragic events of that time. Both guests talked about the increasing prevalence of Holocaust deniers or those who minimize the genocide, and the hope is that meeting an actual survivor will help dispel Holocaust denial or misinformation about the Holocaust.”

In the Middle School, students explored similar themes by viewing “Behind Her Eyes,” a documentary about Auschwitz survivor Tova Friedman, who was five years old when she and her family were sent to Auschwitz and has vivid memories of her experience. Classroom discussions during advisories followed the next day.