TDSA Holocaust Program Raises Awareness
Eighth-grade students receive an in-depth curriculum, including historical context and perspective.
Studying the Holocaust is an important component of the education and development of today’s Jewish children. Torah Day School of Atlanta approaches Holocaust education through an integrated eighth grade curriculum, including Judaic studies and humanities. Students began the year learning the critical historical events leading to World War II. In addition to that background, they received in-depth lessons about the history of antisemitism from the Middle Ages until present times, to better put the events of the Holocaust into historical perspective.
Their study of the timeline and events of World War II and the Holocaust was followed by a series of presentations from members of the TDSA community who are children of survivors, sharing their family members’ personal experiences during the Holocaust.
Participating in TDSA’s program was very important to Eve Adler. She shared, “It is important for future generations to remember the past and ensure the future. We must educate them to keep our heritage alive and that they should be proud members of the Jewish people.”
Students heard from six different speakers and learned about those who originated from Germany, Poland, and Romania; about ghetto life, concentration camps, and being in hiding as part of a partisan group. The real-life stories they heard were often hard to fathom and students had lots of questions. Speakers were heartened by the sincere interest in their family histories.
Marc Lewyn adds, “I feel it is critical to share my father’s story with a new generation who can carry forward the lessons learned. The TDSA kids asked such great questions that it gave me real hope about the future.”
While the eighth graders learned of tremendous loss, they also heard about many miracles. To properly approach the implication of these horrific events, TDSA’s Judaics faculty, Rabbi Tzvi Oratz and Chashy Alterman, shared the Torah perspective on national tragedies. Going forward, the students will take this information and transform it into multi-disciplinary projects about what it was like to grow up during the Holocaust and finding the acts of kindness during these dark times.
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