Where are you from?
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Where do you teach and what subject do you teach?
I teach 10th grade English and AP Seminar at Montour High School in Pittsburgh.

How did you get involved with the JFR?
I have been involved with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh for many years. Lauren Bairnsfather, the director, nominated me to attend the 2019 Summer Institute.

What drew you to the organization and its programming?
I didn’t know much about the program until I was nominated, but the itinerary definitely drew me in. There was such a diverse range of topics that I had not considered exploring, and it seemed unlike any other program I had attended before.

What was the most compelling thing you learned as an Alfred Lerner Fellow?
I learned something every day, from every speaker, but my two favorite lectures would probably be Lawrence Douglas’s lecture on the legal system and Dr Steven Field’s lecture on medicine. I found the content of each fascinating, but they also showed me that Holocaust education could be approached from so many perspectives. This has been so impactful since I do not teach history nor would I consider myself an expert.  I learned that every educator and student can approach Holocaust education from a lens they feel comfortable with and passionate about.

What is your favorite memory from your participation in JFR programming?
More than any single event, the atmosphere stands out in my memory. There was such a sense of open-mindedness and collaboration, and every person in the room shared the goal of using Holocaust education to teach students to become kinder, better people.

How do you feel the fellowship has impacted your life, both personally and professionally?
I feel much more confident as a Holocaust educator because of the fellowship, and I see the relevance of Holocaust education beyond the history classroom (for example, ethics in law and medicine).  As I mentioned before, it really encouraged me to explore the Holocaust through different perspectives, and I’ve found myself applying this to my teaching.

Anything else you’d like to share with the JFR’s followers and supporters?
JFR was by far the best professional development experience I’ve ever had. The speakers, other fellows, food, accommodations, and Stanlee were all phenomenal!

Where are you from?
I grew up outside of Reading, Pennsylvania and relocated to Staunton, Virginia in 2012.

Where do you teach and what subject do you teach?
I finished my 19th year of teaching in May 2021 at Staunton High School where I taught Advanced Placement US Government & Politics, Dual Enrollment US & Virginia History, American Government and an elective course in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Prior to my relocation, I taught for 10 years in Fleetwood, PA. I am now consulting for a variety of Holocaust institutions with my primary role being a Curriculum and Instruction Specialist for Echoes & Reflections, and I teach history at Blue Ridge Community College.

How did you get involved with the JFR?
In 2011, I was privileged to attend the Alfred J. Lerner Fellowship program as a teacher with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh.

What drew you to the organization and its programming?
The outstanding scholars Fellows are privileged to learn from each year. I also appreciated the unique resources the JFR itself creates every year and truly appreciate its mission of providing for rescuers.

What was the most compelling thing you learned as an Alfred Lerner Fellow?
It is truly hard to select one thing but I remember being struck in 2011 by Robert Jan Van Pelt’s presentation about the infrastructure of Auschwitz. That presentation has lingered with me for the last decade.

What is your favorite memory from your participation in JFR programming?
Making some wonderful friends from the US and Poland who I still remain close to to this day.

How do you feel the fellowship has impacted your life, both personally and professionally?
The knowledge that I gained from this experience shaped my teaching of both students and other educators. I learned critical content, as well as exposure to some truly outstanding primary and secondary sources. I also met many incredible people who have become part of my support network in addressing this difficult topic in history.

Anything else you’d like to share with the JFR’s followers and supporters?
The work of the JFR remains critically important in our world today. The high level of scholarship and the opportunity to learn together with equally invested educators is outstanding. The work of the JFR with rescuers is also incredible and their stories will continue thanks to the JFR’s role in telling their stories.

Where are you from?
I teach at Forrestdale School in Rumson, New Jersey. I currently live in Cliffwood, NJ. I grew up in Manahawkin, NJ.

Where do you teach and what subject do you teach?
I teach at Forrestdale School in Rumson, New Jersey. I teach 7th grade English Language Arts, general education (on grade level) and enriched classes.

How did you get involved with the JFR?
I am so proud of the work I have done designing cross-curricular lessons for our 7th grade unit on genocide and Holocaust studies. I have been at the forefront of designing engaging, meaningful lessons about atrocity, survival, and thriving in the face of intolerance for both ELA and social studies. Our school collaborates with the Center for Holocaust, Human Rights, and Genocide Education (Chhange) at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, NJ. Chhange awarded me a scholarship in 2018 so I could attend the Summer Institute for Teachers at Columbia University and earn an Alfred Lerner Fellowship through The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous.

What drew you to the organization and its programming?
The 7th grade ELA and social studies teachers bring artifacts, survivor scrapbooks, and video testimony from Chhange into our classrooms to give the students an immersive experience. Each year we take a field trip to Chhange so the students can experience their exhibit Journeys Beyond Genocide: The Human Experience, for which our teachers designed a scavenger hunt so students would get the most out of their time at the facility. (During Covid, the facilitators at Chhange have designed with our help programming to live-stream into our classrooms through the Smart Boards to discuss artifacts and history with our 7th graders.) We are particularly proud of this unit of study because our lens is through the eyes of survivors. Every story we share is about someone who survived atrocity. We teach the students about the forgotten genocide of the Armenians in 1915, the Holocaust during WWII, and the Rwandan genocide of 1994. This massive unit lasts for two months, and in 2018, our school was recognized by the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education with the Honey and Maurice Axelrod Award regarding Holocaust/genocide education inclusive of prejudice reduction, and bias, bullying, and racism prevention. I’ve always felt it was important to get educated about the Holocaust in order to be a resource for my students who have the same questions I did about the suffering of the Jews and others who were persecuted. The experience offered by the JFR Summer Institute for Teachers has broadened my ability to talk to students and make their experiences in my classroom that much more meaningful. I met people around the nation and the world through the JFR who feel they have to continue to be the voice for those who are gone so that no one forgets the stories of the victims and those who fought for them. Forrestdale School is leading the way when it comes to Holocaust education for our middle schoolers.

What was the most compelling thing you learned as an Alfred Lerner Fellow?
During the Fellowship experience, the instructors taught us about topics that we can bring back to our classrooms to enrich our discussions. I felt that one of the most impactful lectures was given by Professor Dr. Daniel Greene from Northwestern who spoke about refugees during WWII in his presentation: Impediments to Rescue / Obstacles to Immigration. One of the most common questions asked by our students is: Why didn’t the Jews just leave? Greene started off by saying we should change that question to: Why was it so hard to get out [of Europe]? and Why was it so hard to get in [to other countries for safety]? He gave an informative lecture to help the Fellows understand the impacts of WWI and the xenophobia the U.S. felt in its aftermath (among other reasons) that lead to suspicions regarding refugees in WWII. Greene explained that the Allies went to war to defeat fascism, not to save victims; you stop the killers by killing the killers, not by rescuing victims. I felt like by the end of his presentation, I had a much better idea about what the refugees went through and can give a better answer to my students when they ask Why didn’t the Jews just leave? I feel like I understand the politics of the era better so it all makes more sense. He also spoke about rescuers who risked their lives to save men, women, and especially children. Because of Dr. Greene’s lecture, I added a new lesson plan to our unit to come on the heels of learning about Hitler’s Rise to Power to better answer students’ questions about emigration and immigration before, during, and after WWII.

What is your favorite memory from your participation in JFR programming?
By studying the histories and stories of survivors and rescuers in my classroom, the students are building their capacity for empathy. By guiding students through these stories from the past, they learn how to empathize, and that is an important step in shaping these students into well-rounded learners who have strong academic skills and strong social skills. We are committed to teaching our students how to be engaged in the world around them. Teaching them about the past translates into how they navigate their present and future as empathetic, civic-minded individuals. I used materials provided by the JFR to supplement our discussions on rescuers and facts from the presentation “The Mirror of Goodness” presented by JFR Executive Vice President Stanlee Stahl at the end of the five-day experience. She spoke about multiple rescuers and how they saved the oppressed. She shared story after story of the righteous, those who put their lives on the line to save others. It was almost like the Fellows needed to hear these stories of hope and survival in order to remember the capacity for good in the face of atrocity. I am honored to share the stories of the rescuers that were shared with me that summer to continue to support my school’s curriculum.

Another favorite memory was all the incredible people I got to meet.Teachers from all around the country and the world, Croatia in particular, coming together to learn about this terrible time period and how to bring the history and its lessons back to our classrooms – inspiring! I got to meet Doris Bergen, author of War and Genocide, who spoke about the challenges of teaching about antisemitism. I met Dr. Steven Field who gave a lecture titled: More Than Just Mengele: Medicine and the Third Reich. I met Professor Peter Hayes from Northwestern, author of Why? Explaining the Holocaust, a book that has become my go-to when students ask questions that require a little research to answer. I met Pastor Chris Edmonds who shared the story of his father’s heroism that saved the lives of more than 200 Jewish American soldiers in a POW camp in Germany. Each year in my classroom I share the documentary Following the Footsteps of My Father, a 2016 video production in which the JFR brought together four of the Jewish GIs saved by Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds. And among many more lecturers of world-renown, I met Roman Kent, Holocaust survivor and former President of the Board of the JFR before his passing in May, 2021. He gave a lecture titled Jews in the Nazi Grip and gave everyone a copy of his book My Dog Lala, about his beloved dog and life in the Lodz ghetto in Poland. I’d like to be able to say I got my copy autographed after Mr. Kent’s lecture, but I was so overcome with emotion that I just sat in the ladies room and cried in a stall for 20 minutes after he told us his story. I never leave that part out when I retell the story of meeting Mr. Kent to my students – it reminds them of the age of the survivors we have left and how important it is for us to be the voices of their personal histories.

How do you feel the fellowship has impacted your life, both personally and professionally?
I remember being embarrassed by something my paternal grandfather once said. He said, “The Jews caused WWII.” He came from German-Jewish heritage and was embarrassed by this, to the point where he legally changed his first name from “Maurice” to “Ray” so it sounded “less Jewish”. I remember thinking how proud I was of my heritage, a mix of cultures including German Jews, Russian Jews, and relatives who hailed from England and Chile. I was frankly embarrassed for my Grandpa Stahl. I feel that, because I have this rich cultural background, I need to keep learning about the Holocaust and give it honor when I teach the Holocaust in my classroom. Over the years, this has been important to me. And in the State of New Jersey, where Holocaust education is the law in public schools, I feel that by collaborating with my colleagues in ELA and social studies, we’re creating a meaningful experience for the students. By becoming an Alfred Lerner Fellow, I have joined a prestigious group of educators who are bringing clean history and personal stories of the Holocaust to classrooms across the nation. And because of the influence of the JFR, I recently finished a 2-year, 12-credit graduate program toward earning a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Teaching the Holocaust and Prejudice Reduction sponsored by the Holocaust Resource Center at Kean University. Recent projects I designed with colleagues bring lessons about the Holocaust to 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students through the use of picture books and how to incorporate survivor stories represented in graphic novels into the regular classroom setting to promote literacy and art appreciation. I am proud to be a teacher leader in my school with regard to educating our students about patterns of intolerance and also prejudice reduction in modern times. The JFR, in conjunction with Chhange, helped start my journey to become a better Holocaust educator.

Anything else you’d like to share with the JFR’s followers and supporters?
I encourage anyone to continue to be a learner; continue to honor the past by knowing accurate Holocaust history, viewing documentaries and video testimony, and reading diaries and memoirs of survivors of atrocity. Be an advocate for those who no longer have a voice. And hold onto hope, a lesson I’ve heard again and again when I listen to survivor testimony. I found examples of that hope in samples of music and art that came out of the Holocaust. I teach my students about musicians like Henryk Rosmaryn who was ordered to play Shubert on the harmonica in a concentration camp for the commandant. I share his story using the children’s picture book The Harmonica by Tony Johnston with its haunting illustrations along with a youtube video I found of Henryk playing the exact same song for an interview team from the Shoah Foundation at USC that he played for the commandant. A performance that secured Henryk’s survival. I have met artist Claire Boren and heard her lecture about how her art has allowed her to unlock her own story of survival and help her thrive after atrocity. And I learned the story behind the melody to Shtiler, Shtiler (Quiet, Quiet), a song written in the Vilna ghetto, music composed by 11-year-old Alexander Volkovitski so he could win a Judenrat competition for a piece of bread. Combine that with the child choir’s haunting performance of Brundibar at Theresienstadt, and I better understand the idea, “On stage, they are free.” I was moved to write this poem.

Old Europe plays long notes in the night.

Composing on an empty stomach,

in victory there is bread.

Is this a song of hope?

Is this a lament for the dead?

No one knows but God.

Do you hear the music?

Death is at the door

while you sing of birds and bread.