On Tuesday, November 12th, 2024, 35 of Mrs. Janicki’s Honors English II students went on a field trip to John Carroll High School to attend the “Lessons of the Shoa” presentation co sponsored by the Baltimore Jewish Council, and the Ralph and Shirley Klein Foundation.
Nearly 350 high school students from Harford County, Baltimore County, and Baltimore City attended the event, which centered on how children experienced the Holocaust. Keynote speaker, Dr. Lauren Granite, U.S. Director for Centropa, centered her lecture around the pre-Holocaust life of children across Europe.
Students attended break out sessions featuring 2nd generation and 3rd generation survivors who spoke to the students about their parents and grandparents’ experiences before, during and after the Holocaust. The presenters included:Alana Snyder, Heller Kreshtool, Beryl Hershkovitz, Claudi Andorsky, and Jessica Silverman. The small groups were dismissed at 11:00AM for a fully paid meal.
The BJC screened a film titled “One Life” based on a true story a British humanitarian named Sir Nicholas Winton who successfully saved 669 predominately Jewish children in German-occupied Czechoslovakia right before WWII. The story was truly touching and invoked emotion among the audience. Following the screening, the son of one of the children who were saved by Nicholas Winton spoke about his mother’s story.
In closing, the BJC and John Carroll thanked the students for coming and asked them to consider their actions moving forward. Things that may seem small in the moment can lead to greater consequences in communities. Things like ethnic jokes, small prejudices, assumptions, bullying, and misinterpretations are all what kickstarted the discrimination against the Jews in the mid-20th century.
If you would like to learn more about the Lessons of the Shoa and immerse yourself in a world of discovery and learning you can visit them at https://www.teachtheshoah.org/.
