David Nassar, teacher from Winchester Thurston, bears witness to the Holocaust:
“The seminar exceeded all of my expectations. My understanding of the Holocaust as a whole was dramatically altered. In learning about the Holocaust in the past, I had learned it through the lens of “History.” Put shortly, what I learned on this seminar was beyond history. To be more explicit, the material that was presented by our historical expert, Avi Ben-Hur, told the story of the Polish people. He eloquently showed the events leading into the Holocaust, what happened during the Holocaust, and the aftermath. For each part of the historical story he presented, the study group was actually present in the place where the events occurred. The significance of this cannot be overemphasized. The large chasm that exists between the historical subjects being studied and the present-day studiers was bridged by being in the actual sites where the events took place. Though I don’t believe that I could ever fully understand what people endured in Poland during the Holocaust, the ability to tread where these people trod allowed me to really be immersed in the material we were studying.
Having the survivor, Howard, with us made the experience even more moving. Hearing first-hand stories from Howard enabled me to place myself into the shoes of the Polish-Jewish people and more fully understand the Polish-Jewish experience. The stories he shared were not stories found in history books and will not be forgotten.”