It's Holocaust Remembrance Day, and I read a news headline that said there is a growing number of Canadians, particularly young Canadians, who believe the Holocaust to be "an exaggeration." We were trying to find a way to mark the day-- we visit a memorial on 27/01 when we can but there isn't one in Cambridge and this year it didn't work to go elsewhere-- and in light of the news item I saw, we decided that the best way to honour the past this year was to share some nonfiction stories from/about people who were actually there. So, we made a short tour of neighbourhood Little Free Libraries tonight and left some of these books behind us. They didn't all go out tonight, but they will.
I have been to the Holocaust Museums in Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Yad VaShem in Jerusalem. You cannot go to those places and think "it's an exaggeration." When I was teaching, I did a whole unit on the Holocaust with reading and watching The Hiding Place- but the greatest impact was when a Holocaust survivor came to speak at our school. She walked amongst the students and let them see her number. It was powerful. This was a great idea and I hope these books do the same.
This is a great idea. I didnt know there was a Holocaust Remembrance Day until this week. I have also visited Yad VaShem in Jerusalem, but other than Anne Frank, have not read any of these books. Its sad and worrying that anti-Semitism is on the rise again.
Great thinking from you with care…