2011 Holocaust Educators Network from Margo Wixsom on Vimeo.
The day after celebrating July 4th with family and friends, I boarded a plane and headed to New York City to participate in the 2011 Holocaust Educators Network Summer Seminar. After a long flight I arrived at the Memorial Library on 79th Street, and became captivated by the high ceilings and large collection of artwork, only a fragment of what Olga Lengyel once owned I later learned, that filled the home.
Interwoven with time for written, verbal, and silent reflection, has been survivor testimony and the rescuers stories as viewed through the lens of their children’s eyes. We listened intently to Irving Roth, with his brother he worked with horses in one of many Auschwitz work camps and was sent on a death march in the biting, icy winds of January. Alone after the war, he returned home and found his parents who had been hidden by a nurse, one person who chose to resist.
Bronia Brandman, the youngest perhaps to survive in Auschwitz, shared her story. Isolated. Marked. Robbed. Destitute. Thrown out of school. She retraced the direction she took upon arrival- idolized older sister Mila pointed to the right, torn away with her two young sisters on the left, out of instinct Bronia ran to the right. She has a hard time living with this decision now, especially never having said goodbye. Only she and older brother Mendek would survive.
A couple, both children of rescuers, each shared their parent’s history. A popular Hungarian singer, and actress Vali Racz would hide five Jews. Nicolas Winton, largely responsible for saving the lives of more than 600 children with the Czechslovakian Kindertransport, illustrated the concept that one person’s actions can ripple across time and space. The Memorial Library president shared a recent e-mail he received after requesting information about his mother’s experiences in Europe during the Holocaust. In seeking out this history, he found out that his mother, who had only mentioned two camps had actually been in four different camps.
At the Museum of Jewish Heritage near Battery Park with it’s breathtaking, symbolic views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, we took in the artifacts – photographs, letters, pottery, clothing, a worn bunny rabbit- and the individual stories that each carries with it. We learned about the conditions for Jews in Europe from the last 1800’s through the beginning of World War II.
A morning at the United Nations provided us the opportunity to consider contemporary implications, including a discussion with representatives for the United Nations Holocaust Education Program and the Office on Genocide Prevention. Later in our two weeks together, we discussed research on how students, teachers, and others cope with Holocaust education being conducted by Karen Shawn, Ph.D. at Yeshiva University in New York.
We spent an entire day reflecting on 9/11, the lasting impact and trauma associated with this event rippled through the room as we faced the shadows that loom. Curriculum was presented- from the participants themselves as well as Sondra Perl, Ph.D. and Jennifer Lemberg. Deborah Batiste presented “Echoes and Reflections” integrating testimony into the work.
There was time for celebration, too. Experiencing the rich Jewish cultural religious traditions as we attended Shabbat services at Temple Shaaray Tefila followed by shabbat dinner at the library. As we feasted on chopped liver, challah, chicken, green beans, ruguluch, and fresh fruit, we joined the cantor in the singing of traditional shabbat songs, including the prayer for the children. Another evening we listened to klesmer music performed by a Jewish musical group culminating in us joining hands and dancing the horah around the library. A play, “I Never Saw Another Butterfly”, read aloud- art as a medium for expressing the raw pain, conflicted feelings, and moving forward out of the darkness.
In the midst of our emotional and intellectual inquiry, we enjoyed the city: Broadway shows, amateur night at the Apollo, exploding dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai in Chinatown, meandering walks through Central Park, and an evening sail around the Hudson Harbor for a chance to view Brooklyn, Governor’s Island, the Statue of Liberty, and the Manhattan lights from a different perspective. We spent a day walking through Brooklyn, the afternoon in Coney Island- wading in the ocean, a terrifying ride in the front seat of the Cyclone, ending with dinner at Alice Brazziler’s house- amazing Caesar salad and chicken, followed by an energetic concert by a member of Wu Tang Clan in Prospect Park. Late nights and early mornings, losing ourselves in our inquiries, but also in connecting with each other, building foundations for friendships that will last long after our work here is finished though we may be scattered across this country.
On a sunny Sunday morning, I walked through Central Park to meet Uncle Dave and Aunt Grace for a delicious brunch at Dos Caminos. Later, my cousin Sarah met me at the Memorial Library and we headed via Subway to her place in Brooklyn for an amazing dinner prepared by Grant on the rooftop enjoying the view, time for beyblades with Simeon and Tobias, watching the cats acrobatic feats several stories above the ground, and just relaxing in the midst of all the fast-paced learning that had been happening all through this trip. Layered complexities -what it is to be human.
I packed my suitcase not only with clothing, toiletries, shoes, but also with artifacts. Statue of Liberty illuminated against the fading skyline. A single shoe- all that is left to honor a young boy who died during deportation. A split second decision- two sisters left alone- and the guilt Bronia has carried ever since. A nine-year-old, her black and white dress punctuated by a bold pink bow, voice rising over the thunder of applause at the Apollo. Contrasts.
Next summer when I pack my bags again, this time to journey to Berlin, Auschwitz, Warsaw, Prague- Bronia, Irving, Vali, Nicholas, Chawa, Olga, and so many others- will be there with me.
