Lydia Orgen
During the second assembly, survivor Ruth Cohen recounted her experiences as a teenager in Czechia at the time.
Two Holocaust survivors shared their family stories with students and staff in the auditorium Wednesday. The two assemblies, each attended by one-half of the student body, aimed to educate on the importance of Holocaust remembrance and combating hate. The Jews4Change Club organized the program, in collaboration with the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) and Whitman administration.
The Holocaust — in Greek, “sacrifice by fire” — was the systematic eradication of the Jewish population in Europe by Nazi Germany, resulting in the murder of an estimated six million Jewish people. Other oppressed minority groups were also targeted by the Nazis, such as communists, disabled people and LGBTQ+ people.
During the first assembly, Holocaust survivor Dr. Alfred Munzer shared his family’s experiences during the Holocaust in the Netherlands. A Dutch-Indonesian family hid Munzer in their home, while his parents and sisters were deported to concentration and labor camps. His mother survived, and they later reunited.
During the second assembly, survivor Ruth Cohen recounted her experiences as a teenager in Czechia at the time. The Nazis took her to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where she and her sister were separated from their parents. She was then transferred to numerous other camps before liberation in 1945. Cohen and her sister eventually reunited with their father.
Rachel Barold, president of Jews4Change, and Emma Libowitz, vice president, said there is a lack of comprehensive Holocaust education in class curriculums. Motivated by this shortfall, they aim to provide students with a meaningful understanding of the Holocaust.
“Holocaust education has always been a tenant of the Jews4Change platform,” Barold said.
Barold started planning the assembly in the fall with support from Whitman’s administration and JCRC staff. Both Barold and Libowitz were already involved with the JCRC and familiar with its Holocaust awareness and antisemitism prevention programs.
“The JCRC also has a very well-known Holocaust speakers program,” Barold said. “They’re really experienced, and they’ve done this in a lot of schools.”
With the number of living Holocaust survivors dwindling, organizations like the JCRC and the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. are actively documenting their stories and raising awareness. International Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed January 27, marks the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Red Army’s liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Nazi Germany’s largest concentration camp.
Senior Allison Khani attended the first assembly and was struck by Dr. Munzer’s emotional stories about his parents and sisters, accompanied by photographs of his family members.
“I thought the assembly was very well done because the best way to learn history is by hearing it from a firsthand account,” Khani said. “There are not a lot of Holocaust survivors left, and we are incredibly lucky to hear Dr. Munzer’s story.”