History Lessons
Ira Rifkin’s article outlining the Shoah Visual History Foundation’s project [“Personal History,” October] was very interesting and brought back some wonderful memories of working at the Oakland-Piedmont Jewish Community Center before I became a teacher. I was fortunate enough to meet people and hear stories that were straight from the mouths of Holocaust survivors. The stories were shocking, but they stayed with me.
Since that earlier time in my life, I have always been fascinated by this shameful partof our world’s history. I have watched almost every movie produced that has anything to do with the Holocaust. I continue to be awestruck by the survivors’ stories.
I have visited the Museum of Tolerance at the Simon Wiesenthal Center with a group of fellow educators, and I would love to expose some of my high school students to these lessons. Your article spawned a new drive on my part to bring this piece of history alive for some of our teenagers. The Shoah Foundation might be just the ticket to help bring some lessons to my small high school nestled in the Sierra foothills.
I thank you for this insightful introduction and hope that my students, too, can benefit from the personal memories that emerge with the CD-ROM and video programs produced by the Shoah Foundation.
Sandra Bradley
Principal
Tioga High School
Groveland, California
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