We began our second pre-trip session
by selecting a picture that we resonate with from a spread of black and white
photographs of people before the Holocaust.
We each had different reasons for choosing the picture we did, which
shows how we all can connect and relate to people affected by the Holocaust in
our own unique ways. Most of us were
curious and interested in the fates of the people presented in the
pictures. Some of the pictures displayed
young children having fun and enjoying being innocent before the Nazis invaded.
During the next part of our session,
we learned more in depth about the Holocaust and genocide. We watched a very informative video that put
into perspective the amount of camps and Nazi territory that consumed much of
Europe. We also learned the answer to
one of the most common questions asked about the Holocaust or any genocide:
“how could it have happened?” The answer
resides in The Eight Stages of Genocide, which include classification,
symbolization, dehumanization, organization, polarization, preparation,
extermination, and denial. This shows
how much effort and local community support has to go into the making of a genocide.
We concluded our session with
Holocaust survivor Stephanie Marks. She
traveled over 7,500 miles through five countries and two continents in the span
of one year to escape the Nazis! Stephanie was born in Poland so it was very
interesting to hear her story, since we are visiting there soon. The group’s favorite anecdote was when
Stephanie and her mother tricked Heinrich Himmler into letting their family
leave the country. We are all very
anxious and excited for our trip to Poland and Israel and to see first hand
what Stephanie described.
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