BRIDGEWATER – Students in Ed Graf’s history classes at Somerset County Vocational and Technical High School (SCVTHS) recently participated in a number of activities to remember and honor victims of the Holocaust.
The focus of their studies was preparing for a presentation by Emily Shulman, the child of Holocaust survivors from Poland. In preparation for Ms. Shulman’s visit, students studied the subject in-depth, wrote a research essay, and prepared questions to ask during the presentation to increase their understanding of the events and the impacts of the Holocaust.
On the day of the visit, Mike Boll and Zisa Belfer of the New Jersey Veterans Network accompanied Ms. Schuman. Over the course of two hours, she shared her parents’ stories and the effects the Holocaust had on them and on her family. She highlighted the assistance her parents received from families who hid them and from a German soldier who helped her mother escape a dangerous situation. The main message Ms. Schuman shared was that there are people who are “watchers” who stand by as events happen around them, and “doers” who step in and help those in need. She credits the “doers” her parents encountered with saving them – and their lineage. She then encouraged the students to be “doers” and to stand up for those who need help.
At the end of the talk, the students were able to ask the questions they prepared, and to talk about the ways that they can be forces for good in their communities. “The students were very impressed with Ms. Schuman” said Mr. Graf, adding that they “collectively, dramatically stated that they wanted to be doers in life, not watchers.”
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