AMS Students Learn About the Holocaust in Honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day

On Friday, January 26, Anderson Middle School students learned about International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day that commemorates the date when the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated in 1945. During the morning events, students participated in lessons in Homeroom in recognition of Holocaust Remembrance Day.

6th grade students watched several documentaries that contained historical events and personal stories from Holocaust survivors and veterans who liberated the camps. They also completed a lesson learning about the Holocaust. Principal Mike Ross shared, “There were certainly parts of these documentaries that were emotional as students listened to the experiences of survivors and liberators along with seeing images and videos showing the horrific conditions humans were subjected to during this dark period in history.”

The 7th grade lesson focused more on antisemitism and why a tragedy of this level was allowed to occur. Students learned about propaganda, scapegoating, and fear tactics used by the Nazis that influenced so many to be bystanders. The 7th grade lesson also focused on Upstanders, those who resisted the Nazi regime and took action to help save those targeted for extermination.

8th graders listened to guest speaker, Linda Cohen, author of the book, Sarinka, which is based on the story of Ms. Cohen’s parents who were both Holocaust survivors. She shared how both of her parents escaped and lived in hiding from the Nazis for years until they were allowed refugee status in the United States and who helped them escape. Ms. Cohen also shared with students what it was like to grow up as a child of Holocaust survivors. At the end of her presentation, Ms. Cohen stressed how dangerous hate can be and how important it is that people get to know each other and accept their differences. Mr. Ross shared, “At a time when antisemitism is elevated around the world, it is more important than ever to educate our students on our past so that these atrocities never happen again and we can work towards living in a world of acceptance and unity.”

After the morning’s lesson, students wrote a reflection of the day’s events in their social studies classes. In addition, Media Specialist Rachel Aytes put together a reading list and book talk about the Holocaust and students were encouraged to check out books from the Media Center to learn more