Day 3

"After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” 

~ Phillip Pullman 

One of the organization's sponsoring my trip is the USC Shoah Foundation. Their mission is to record testimonies of those who have experienced genocide (such as the Holocaust), and then create a way for teachers to use these stories in the classroom.

The organization started when Steven Spielberg (who I met today!) created the movie, Schindler's List. The movie created a need to talk to survivors about their experiences. 

The organization is hosting us here for the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp, Auschwitz. This took place on January 27th, 1945 when the Russians freed the people who had survived the camp. 

1. Go to the USC Shoah Foundation website. Click on "Auschwitz: The Past is Present" and watch the video about Auschwitz. Write down 5 facts.

2. Now go to the section called "Watch." Click on "Watch IWitness Testimonies." You can also click here Watch Testimonies. Click on "Auschwitz" and then find the testimonies below. Choose the testimony of Erna Anolik (she is the third testimony). Watch her testimony. In 3-5 sentences, summarize her experiences.

3. Choose any other testimony in any category. Write down the name of the person, their birthdate, and their home country. Watch their testimony, and, just as you did with Erna's testimony, summarize that person's experience.

We have been learning why testimony is so important. It is one thing to read about a person, but it is another thing to hear their story in their own voice.

4. Why might a testimony be a good way of learning about the past? What does a testimony give us that many other sources can not do?

It's hard to believe that it's the 70th anniversary of Auschwitz. There will be over 100 survivors here and we are going to meet them at a reception tomorrow. Unfortunately, this will be the last time that an event like this might happen (most of the survivors are over 80 years old).

5. How might these testimonies help our generation change or help the future after these survivors are gone?