Holocaust Awareness blog
Welcome to the Holocaust Awareness blog! Please browse through our articles to find stories about survivors, events and the relevance of Holocaust education in today's world.
Posted on June 20, 2012 by Elyse Rast
As I sit on the airplane traveling to Berlin via Munich I think about the other time I was in Germany. After graduating from college in 1994, I lived in London for six months followed by a backpacking adventure through Europe. I gathered a few friends and a Eurail pass, which was a college graduation gift, and spent the next several months exploring.
Posted on June 21, 2012 by Elyse Rast
I'm on the bus chatting with my new friends who are mostly board members and directors of AJC's and ADL's. I'm tired and enjoying getting to know people from different parts of the US and Canada. I'm focused on the converstations and not paying much attention to where we are heading. Next thing I know we are at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. As a Holocaust educator I have read countless books, seen numerous movies, and talked extensively with many survivors, but this is my first trip to a camp. How will it be? Will I cry? What will the reactions be of other group members? What will the perspective be of our German docent?
Posted on June 22, 2012 by Elyse Rast
It may not surprise you to know that Germany's mission to repair past wrongs has far surpassed many people's expectations. There is mandatory Holocaust education and they provide financial restitution to survivors. Additionally, there are many memorials and museums that deal with the past by sharing with visitors their feelings of guilt and shame. What I wasn't expecting, though, was a museum entirely dedicated to the perpetrators.
Posted on June 25, 2012 by Elyse Rast
I visited the house where my grandfather lived before having to leave Germany in 1938. I was very close to him and have always remembered his gentleness and sense of humor. While growing up I loved his wrinkly face and his thick German accent. He passed away many years ago, and prior to that, it had been quite awhile since I visited.
