Yom HaShoah 2007

Always Time to Remember at Friedel

By Annette van de Kamp-Wright

 

 

Talking, or writing, about the Holocaust is never easy. Teaching our children about it is even more difficult. Yet it is a topic that must come up when we plan our children’s Jewish upbringing. Certain challenges present themselves when teaching about the Shoah to Jewish American youth: there are no geographical landmarks to serve as reminders; one cannot drive around Omaha and tie memory to place.  The nation as a whole does not commemorate Yom Ha’Shoah; there are no special events on television and the country does not –as Israel and some other countries do- maintain several minutes of silence to honor those that lost their lives.  As a result, forgetting and foregoing can be all too easy.

Luckily, there are teachers like Na’ama Artzi, who teaches Hebrew at Friedel Jewish Academy. Together with ADL’s Beth Dotan, she has developed an age appropriate curriculum for students from Kindergarten to Sixth grade.

“We teach the children about the Holocaust year round,” Artzi explains, “and by the time we arrive at Yom Ha’Shoah, they have a good understanding about concepts like freedom and tolerance. They understand there are many different people in the world, and that tolerance for these differences is an important step towards peace in the world.  They also understand that remembering the Shoah is a constant, it isn’t confined to one particular day.  We teach them about Resistance to anti-Semitism during Chanukah, and the younger children become familiar with figures such as Janusz Korzcak”.  Artzi also adds that “we don’t introduce the horror of the Holocaust to our Kindergartners; rather, we emphasize the resilience of our people. There is a delicate balance between educating young children, and scaring them. By the time our students reach 4th through 6^th grade, we talk about morals and about survival.  Through testimonials of those that have experienced the Holocaust first-hand, they learn about young children just like them. They learn that children can be very strong, and that even in the face of adversity, children will always remain children”. 

Beth Seldin Dotan, Director of the Center for Holocaust Education, has proved a helpful resource for all teachers at Friedel.  During the summer months, she and Artzi plan many Holocaust related lessons for the following school year.  “Friedel students are well prepared for this type of education”, Dotan says. “Holocaust education is introduced fairly early in most Jewish schools. We begin by asking how prejudice develops, and how we should act if we are faced with it. Through personal histories and exhibits, the children become more and more familiar with our past”.

According to Artzi, the actual Shoah commemoration is fairly similar to what is experienced by children in Israel: “We try to be like Israel. At 10 a.m., we hold two minutes of silence. We have a ceremony in the Synagogue, and students light 6 candles. Parents of our students are encouraged to come and join the children during the service.”

The ceremony will take place April 16, at 9:45 am at the Riekes Shul.

Because of her environment, native Israeli Na’ama Artzi feels very much at home at Friedel.  “The General Studies teachers are every bit as involved as the Hebrew teachers when it comes to Holocaust Education. Everyone is aware and supportive of the requirement to pay attention to the Shoah. They all have big hearts, they all are involved, and that experience helps me feel as if I am home”.

Jewish History in general, and the Shoah in particular, are not solely in the past; by teaching our children about every aspect of Judaism, we can ensure that future generations will feel a personal connection to the Holocaust.  They will comprehend the urgency of speaking for those who can no longer speak for themselves.

            

Yom HaShoah 2008

Dr. Kader Shares Holocaust Memories with Friedel Students

By Annette van de Kamp-Wright

Note: This article was previously published in the Jewish Press on May 16, 2008

 

On Friday May 2^nd, Friedel students, staff and parents attended a Holocaust memorial service in the Riekes Shul, after which the third through sixth graders visited with Dr. Fred Kader. He spoke at length about his experiences as a hidden child during WW II.

Dr. Kader was born in Belgium in 1938, and just four years later found himself at the Antwerp station. Together with his mother, he waited to board the train to Auschwitz, when she suddenly told him to walk out of the station. With his blond hair and blue eyes, she thought he might have a chance, as long as he didn’t get on that train. He did what she told him, and was rescued by a Catholic nun; he never saw his mother again.

            “Survivors will not be around for much longer,” Dr. Kader told his audience, “so it is very important to remember stories like mine for the next generation. Survivors don’t need to remember; we were there. The next generation needs to remember not to forget.”
Dr. Kader explained to his listeners what it was like to exist in an orphanage during the war years in Belgium. He and many other children would miss that train two more times, thanks to the intervention of righteous gentiles. When the war came to an end, his uncle came and found him. He was eventually adopted by an aunt in Montreal, far away from the streets he wandered alone as a four-year-old.

“Dr. Fred Kader communicated his story with a quiet dignity, warmth and a desire to maintain history,” principal Cookie Katskee said. “Because he was an obedient child and because righteous Gentiles cared enough to risk their lives, his life was spared. His grace makes him someone worthy of imitation”.

“Remembering the Holocaust is a fight against indifference,” Dr. Kader told the students. “Very few people in Belgium cared enough to help, and the few that did were murdered by the Nazis.” Dr. Kader went on to say that 90% of formerly hidden children went on to work in the medical field, social services, and education; the remainder became artists. “There is a strong urge among all of us to help others,” he said. Dr. Kader himself is a neurologist.

Beth Seldin Dotan, Director of the Center for Holocaust Education, was impressed with Dr. Kader’s words: “He was so real.  He showed his emotion, and shared his deep gratitude for the sacrifice his mother made to let her son go when she knew she would meet her death.  He spoke about the incredible courage she must have faced and how there were good individuals amidst the horror who helped save a little boy.  Dr. Kader truly brought home the message that each person must be good and kind to those around him, and show the courage to stand up for what is right.  His soft, gentle manner

had the students mesmerized – they drank in every word of his testimony and his message.  I was very touched, as always, by the Friedel students’ tenderness when asking their poignant questions”.

Dr. Kader left the students with the message to “become good citizens of the world, be kind to others, and stand up for what you believe in. Part of remembering is not ignoring the bad things when they happen.”

 

Korczak’s Kites

Janusz Korczak’s Kites

By Annette van de Kamp-Wright

 

 

Every Child Must Have a Kite

Do your children like fun and games?

What are their favorite games? Playing ball? Bicycling?

Why do you, who live down in the valley, ignore kites?

Every child in the valley must have a kite, for there is strong wind on the hill at Ein Harod.

You need all kinds of kites, and on every festive occasion you must fly scores, even hundreds of them, in all shapes and colors.

-Dr. Janusz Korczak

 

Dr Janusz Korczak was a famous Writer, Educator and Doctor, but became known as the ‘King of Children’ for his selfless work with orphans. He was born into a well-to-do family, but felt drawn to the poor and the hungry. While he was assimilated enough to consider himself Polish through and through, he motivated many of ‘his’ children during the 1930s to move to what was then Palestine. Although he had several opportunities to save his own life, Korczak chose to remain in the Warsaw Ghetto with his nearly 200 orphans.  On August 6, 1942, they boarded the train to Treblinka.  While he is famous mostly for the way he died, Janusz Korczak should be celebrated for the way he lived.  A tireless advocate for children’s rights long before the Geneva Convention ever came into being, he wrote volumes on what children need and deserve from the adults that raise them. 

Freedom, coupled with Jewish Identity, were important concepts to Dr. Korczak.  In his Ghetto Diary, which was written during his years in the Warsaw Ghetto and subsequently hidden until it was smuggled out after WW II, he wrote many stories based on his own life.  One such story tells of him being forbidden by his parents to play outside and associate with the neighborhood children.  Instead of running outside, like he so desperately wanted, he was stuck inside, with a canary in a cage for his only playmate. When the canary died, he decided to bury his ‘friend’ in the courtyard.  Influenced by the overwhelming Catholic presence in late 19^th century Poland, he fabricated a cross to put on the bird’s grave.  Another little boy told him he could not do this, because “the canary was Jewish. What was worse, so was he.”  Dr. Korczak never forgot that moment of revelation, and dedicated his life to finding Jewish children a safe place in the world. When safe places could no longer be found, he went with them into the darkness.

On October 23^rd, students, staff and parents at Friedel Jewish Academy ventured outside to enjoy a beautiful fall day and celebrate “Kites of Hope”.  They flew kites in honor of Dr. Janusz Korczak, and all he has taught the world about how children should be treated. Since the early 1930’s children at Kibbutz Ein Harod have been making and flying kites based on an idea by Dr. Korczak.  His philosophy was that “the wind is a gift to children”.  Fitting with this tradition, the Ghetto Fighters’ Museum in Western Galilee has joined forces with Yad Layeled Children’s Memorial.  A special day for making and flying kites has been designated during the holiday of Sukkot.

            Beth Seldin Dotan, Director of the Institute of Holocaust Education, brought the initiative to Omaha in 2001.  Dotan worked for the Ghetto Fighters’ Museum for three years, and was their Omaha Representative for two years after that. “It’s amazing to see this level of participation every year,” she says.  “Even when we don’t expect it, it always turns out to be perfect kite-flying weather.  It’s as if Dr. Korczak is watching us.”  Dotan is also impressed with the students’ involvement, as well as their familiarity with Dr. Korczak: “they know who he is, and what he stands for. They are very familiar with the kite tradition, and come to expect it every year.  Dr. Korczak belongs to them.”

            Principal Cookie Katskee is enthusiastic about the annual kite flying: “The real significance of this event is the inclusion of all Jewish children in the Diaspora, as well as those in Israel,” she says, “because it represents freedom to us all. The children get to go outside, the leaves are blowing right along with the kites, and the weather always seems to cooperate.  Once again, we had an absolutely perfect day.”  Kindergartner Harper Gordman experienced freedom in an original way: her kite got stuck in a tree, and refused to come back down.  It will stay there for now, as a constant reminder of the freedom that Dr. Korczak wanted for all our children.