School News
“Portraits of Life: Holocaust Survivors of Montgomery County” in the Berkeley Library
The exhibit “Portraits of Life: Holocaust Survivors of Montgomery County” has returned to Lowell and is on display in the Berkeley Library this week. A collaboration between local holocaust survivors and faculty and students of Montgomery College, the project documents the experiences of survivors through photography and oral history.
On Tuesday, March 13, Emanuel "Manny" Mandel, a survivor featured in the current exhibit, visited 7th graders to share his experience growing up in Hungary during WWII. "It wasn't unusual for German soldiers to ride into towns and conduct a census," Manny said. Students intently listened as he recounted his experiences—narrowly missing execution in a pogrom masked as a census, walking to and from school wearing the yellow star, and riding the Kastner train from Budapest to Switzerland by way of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, the very camp where Anne Frank died.
Lessons of the holocaust are innumerable. The 7th grade themes of power, rights, and responsibilities provide a rigorous framework for classroom investigations. Students examine the myth of race, how power is coveted, the phenomenon of scapegoating, and how societies define who belongs and who doesn't based on their universe of obligation. While 7th graders tackle these complexities, they also grapple with the gravity of the six million people who lost their lives. Humanities Teacher Sarah Smith said speakers like Mandel balance “the enormity of [the holocaust] and the individual impact" and provide valuable context and perspective for students.
The opportunity to hear first-person accounts of the holocaust is slowly dwindling as survivors reach their 80's and 90's. That’s why students were quietly scribbling notes into graphic organizers as they listened intently to Mandel’s story. Later in the week, they transformed their notes into written accounts of their experience hearing his story. “It’s passing on the oral history,” said Sarah, and the responsibility to never forget.
On Tuesday, March 13, Emanuel "Manny" Mandel, a survivor featured in the current exhibit, visited 7th graders to share his experience growing up in Hungary during WWII. "It wasn't unusual for German soldiers to ride into towns and conduct a census," Manny said. Students intently listened as he recounted his experiences—narrowly missing execution in a pogrom masked as a census, walking to and from school wearing the yellow star, and riding the Kastner train from Budapest to Switzerland by way of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, the very camp where Anne Frank died.
Lessons of the holocaust are innumerable. The 7th grade themes of power, rights, and responsibilities provide a rigorous framework for classroom investigations. Students examine the myth of race, how power is coveted, the phenomenon of scapegoating, and how societies define who belongs and who doesn't based on their universe of obligation. While 7th graders tackle these complexities, they also grapple with the gravity of the six million people who lost their lives. Humanities Teacher Sarah Smith said speakers like Mandel balance “the enormity of [the holocaust] and the individual impact" and provide valuable context and perspective for students.
The opportunity to hear first-person accounts of the holocaust is slowly dwindling as survivors reach their 80's and 90's. That’s why students were quietly scribbling notes into graphic organizers as they listened intently to Mandel’s story. Later in the week, they transformed their notes into written accounts of their experience hearing his story. “It’s passing on the oral history,” said Sarah, and the responsibility to never forget.
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Lowell School is a private PK-8th grade school located in NW Washington, DC. Our mission is to create an inclusive community of lifelong learners in which each individual is valued and respected.
