NORTH SALEM, N.Y. - When thirteen driving licenses of persecuted Jewish citizens were discovered in a small German village, few could have imagined how they would eventually connect students across continents and generations at North Salem Middle/High School's Holocaust Remembrance Night.
The event, hosted in collaboration with the Hudson Valley Human Rights & Holocaust Commission and the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center of NY, featured performances by the school band, a student art competition, and the powerful testimony of Lisa Salko, a granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor.
"I was glad to see that people are speaking up and telling stories of their ancestors," said sophomore Grace, awarded first place in the art competition for her papercut golden butterfly breaking free from a collage of concentration camp photographs. The sculpture was inspired by a poem she read in class. "This is a real-life thing that's happened, and someone is here to talk about her story and her ancestors' story. That was really powerful."
"I wrote a poem to not only reflect on how recent the events of the Holocaust were but to show a perspective of a Jew today and how there is still hatred in the world," said sophomore Olivia, who won second place. "It's still an enduring issue and there are things you can do about it. You can stand up and speak out and create action to change it."
Continuing into the following day, the school displayed "Thirteen Licenses," a traveling exhibit highlighting 13 Jewish citizens from Lichtenfels, Germany. These individuals had their driver's licenses confiscated by the Nazi regime in 1938. Eighty years later, when the licenses were discovered in an abandoned building, German high school students researched to locate the descendants of these individuals.
Throughout the day, middle and high school social studies teachers brought classes to view and discuss the display of personal histories and family photographs that conveyed the stories of lost rights, livelihoods, and, in many instances, lives.
Sixth grader Kevin made a connection to the book "Refugee" by Alan Gratz. "One of the stories we read in class was about a boy on the ship St. Louis, and I saw someone in the exhibit had the same experience as him. I read about what they experienced but instead of a fictional character, it's a real-life story," he said.
"It's in-depth and about each individual person rather than the bigger issue, which is what you learn about in class," said eighth grader Kendall. "It shows that anyone can do anything if they put in the work," she said about the German high school students who conducted the research.
"This exhibit is about how the Holocaust impacted a small village in a region of Germany," said social studies teacher Chris Regan. "The students who did this project, they didn't have to do it, but they took it upon themselves to find and contact all of the relatives. We often talk about being an upstander, and these students exemplify that."
"I think it's really important to remember because there's not too many people left that were there to tell their story firsthand," said sixth grader Vivian. "It's important to remember and learn about it so you can keep the story alive, so it can't happen again."
Article courtesy of North Salem Central School District.
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