Local Students Craft Stones of Remembrance
Students from 15 area schools participated in this year’s Stones of Remembrance project.
Sasha Heller is the Web Editor and Copy Editor for the Atlanta Jewish Times
Each year, the Stones of Remembrance project, sponsored by The Breman, the Lillian and Al Weinberg Center for Holocaust Education, Eternal-Life Hemschech, and the Jewish Foundation of Greater Atlanta, memorializes the 1.5 million Jewish children who were killed during the Holocaust.
The students are given an actual murdered child’s first and last name, the date and place of their birth, and a memorial stone in which they decorate. The students are then encouraged to write a reflective essay to help them process the project’s tragic themes. For their written reflections, the students could choose from a set of prompts or write an open-ended essay. The stones are then either displayed as a Holocaust memorial on their school grounds, at The Breman, or each student could bring their stone home to place in a location personal to them.
This year, students from 15 area schools participated in the project. The following are selections of the students’ guided reflections and open-ended responses:
Guided Reflections
How did you feel when painting your Stone of Remembrance? Why did you feel this way?
I felt sad and heartbroken hearing that this person died at my age. I had wished this had never happened. I almost started crying! Aviyah Tzuben, AJA grade 5
I felt a bit of hope in a time of darkness. That even though it happened around 90 years ago, we still remember the people who died and how it actually matters to us. Coby Ebrams, AJA grade 5
I felt sad knowing that a 10-year-old girl had a family and a life and could have had a beautiful family and kids but is not able to live up to her full potential. Rebecca Carter, AJA grade 6
I was wondering how did Renia feel? She was only six. Eden Amos, Lovett grade 6
Why is it important to remember children who were killed in the Holocaust?
Because we are their age and we can’t imagine that happening to us. We also need to learn about the Holocaust because it is a big part of our Jewish history Emily Katzman, AJA, grade 5
Because we are Jewish children remembering Jewish children that did not have a proud happy life like we do. Anih Aavdar-Rubin, AJA grade 6
It is important because they do not have a burial place. Shlomo I, AJA grade 6
One reason is because 1.5 million innocent children were murdered for no other reason than being Jewish. Another reason is because their families were also murdered, so there was no one to say Kaddish for them. Naomi Perez, AJA grade 6
What did you learn from participating in the Stones of Remembrance project?
I learned that everybody matters. Evan Bettsack, AJA grade 5
I learned that not everyone is remembered. Ryan Schwartz, AJA grade 5
I learned that many children died and has nobody who remembers them and that it’s important to remember them. Zachary Schulman, AJA grade 5
I learned it is a kind of important thing to make someone’s life matter every year. Priya Hebbar, Lovett grade 6
If allowed to take your stone home, where would you place it and why?
I would put it near my Shabbat candles on my Shabbat table, so I can remember this child and pray for them. Ruth Frank, AJA grade 6
I would put it right next to one of my windows because in nature there is always peace and harmony, and I hope for these poor children there is always peace and harmony. Mattie Katz, AJA grade 5
I would put my stone in the front of my house so everyone who walks by or comes in will know the child and remember all the kids that were killed. Yael Baranes, AJA grade 7
In my room because that is where I am most during the day, and you need to remember it all day long. Daria Gal, AJA grade 8
Open-ended Reflections
When my teacher told us about this project, I was like, “Ok, cool, let’s help people, remember them.” But, after thinking about it, it made me realize that it is much more than just remember. This project shows that this is something that should never happen again, especially when it does. By decorating these stones, we show that we care, that we’re aware of what happened and still we’re strong and unbreakable. The child I got was Sveda. Sveda was two years old when she died. TWO! She didn’t get to see the world, to make friends. Who knows if she ever knew how to speak? No one, because no one remembers her. So that’s our job, our mission: to make sure that people will remember her and 1.5 million other kids who were killed in the 6 horrible years of the Holocaust. Anonymous, AJA grade 5
Imagine these poor children’s lives,
Suffering in the Jewish demise.
The things they never got to do,
The dreams they never got to pursue.
Eden Amos, Lovett grade 6
When I was doing the project, a sense of importance and reverence came over me. The importance for the child who had a life to live, and that was stolen from them. An importance of what I was doing was commemorating someone who really deserves to be remembered. On the back of my stone I wrote, “Never Forgotten” for they lost their lives with no choice or warning. The reverence that came over me reminded me that I have to respect the sacrifice and life of this child. I think that doing this project opened my mind to realizing the melancholy, atrocious, murder by the Nazis, and how we must always remember them. This project made me feel the importance that the child deserves. Riya Heda, Lovett grade 6
The Holocaust was a dreadful time when millions of Jews were killed. The Holocaust was also known as a genocide. Adolf Hitler made the Jews of Germany sound terrible. He got everyone or almost everyone to turn against them and made their lives a living nightmare. They blamed Jews for Germany’s loss in WW1. The Holocaust was a terrible experience for Jews. It continues now with antisemitism. It’s important to remember the deaths and for people to remember the dreadful times so when it happens again, we fight back harder.
Hayveh Simmons, Temple Sinai grade 6
forgetting is a never
remembering is forever
placing these rocks shows we care
remembering these people who are always there
thinking of people who were brave and kind
is something you should have in mind
because placing these rocks you won’t forget
thinking of these people something you won’t forget
cause holding these people love to your heart
where you care the most from the start
Leah Zinn, AJA grade 5
Marg Bedzow, AJA grade 5
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