Terezin Reflections - Chapter 4

Terezin Reflections - Chapter 4

By Rachel Nathanson

From June 24 - July 4, 2010 the Holocaust Center, in partnership with Museum Without Walls, organized a Holocaust study trip to Budapest and Prague. Frieda S., a survivor from Terezin, and her daughter Dee (also the Co-Executive Director of the Holocaust Center) participated in the trip and shared the group invaluable first hand experiences. Eva, a survivor of Terezin who had been in the barracks with Frieda, met up with us. Below Rachel Nathanson, one of the Holocaust Center's board members and a participant on the trip, describes some of sites and shares her thoughts on the experience of visiting Terezin.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Although much has been recorded of the Terezin history, the flood of 2002 that ravaged much of Central Europe, gave rise to new discoveries. Due to the flood, a storage room within a private home’s yard was damaged by the almost five-foot high waters. All of the stored goods were then removed, leading to the discovery of what was clearly a hidden synagogue. This small room (about 15’ by 15’), with no windows, lost the inscriptions along the walls due to the floodwaters, but the ceiling painting remains. The prayers, written high along the walls, beg God to return from his anger. The remaining words of one damaged prayer now say, “If I forget thee…”

The Red Cross Visit
The Red Cross was allowed to visit Terezin to see what Hitler called “a city for the Jews”, a city he created to supposedly protect them from the horrors of war. The village area was spruced up and an illusion that this was a working, lovely town was made complete. Stores were filled with goods, bakeries overflowed with food, and the inmates carefully instructed on how to “play act” for these visiting outsiders. Children were given candy to hold but told not to eat it and upon a successful ruse for the Red Cross, the candy was cruelly stripped from their fingers by the guards.

A film, made by Jewish filmmakers within Terezin, shows the theatrically happy lives being lived by all the inmates. Playacting included a soccer game with cheering crowds, young women sharing their knitting projects, and other manufactured scenes. With the film complete, the filmmakers and many of those participating in the film were promptly sent to Auschwitz to eliminate their knowing complicity.

Survival
Frieda and Eva were blessed to have lived. Their survival was helped by so many small factors: the fact that as “mischlings” they were transported later and treated slightly better; that they were given the job of working the fields for the officers which allowed them to sneak a little food while in the fields and bring a few items back to the other girls; that they were strong and young – and determined.

Frieda tells the chilling story of so many girls getting shipped out on the trains and she wanted desperately to get out of Terezin. She managed to trade some things to get one of the “transport cards” for a train, not realizing she would be sealing her fate to leave for Auschwitz. The guard at the train saw her and noted that she reminded him of his own daughter. She begged to get on the train and he told her he would “break her legs” if she ever tried to get on the train again, and sent her back. What amount of guilt did this man have that he could choose just one girl, save just one soul?

Three months before the war was over, Frieda’s father, who was Jewish, and brother were also transported to Terezin. As the Soviet fighting came closer to Terezin in 1945, the Germans fled, destroying bridges and roads behind them. Frieda’s father did not hesitate. He stole a horse and cart and filled it with as many children as could fit and took them out of Terezin to Prague. What would normally take 12 hours, took 5 days.

When the Soviets reached Terezin, they had to quarantine the area due to the rampant outbreak of Typhus. Adding to the tragedy of this chapter of history, many of the remaining inmates died of typhoid fever, even though “liberated” from the camp.

I started this long account by saying I have a 15-year old daughter. I could not help but think of my own daughter when learning about Frieda and Eva’s experience (as only 2 of so many). How could I have handled her being taken from me at such a young age for several years? We learned that Frieda’s mother travelled many days to stand outside the fortress walls in hopes of catching a glimpse of her daughter, just to know that she was still alive. I stood with chills, thinking about her mother. I could be her mother.

In the end, the only thing I can do is bear witness to the story. Let this horrendous time in our history never be forgotten. I am ever so grateful for what I have.

Terezin Reflections - Chapter 3

Terezin Reflections - Chapter 3
By Rachel Nathanson


From June 24 - July 4, 2010 the Holocaust Center, in partnership with Museum Without Walls, organized a Holocaust study trip to Budapest and Prague. Frieda S., a survivor from Terezin, and her daughter Dee (also the Co-Executive Director of the Holocaust Center) participated in the trip and shared the group invaluable first hand experiences. Eva, a survivor of Terezin who had been in the barracks with Frieda, met up with us. Below Rachel Nathanson, one of the Holocaust Center's board members and a participant on the trip, describes some of sites and shares her thoughts on the experience of visiting Terezin.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 4


We stood before the building where Frieda and Eva’s teenage years were stolen, and their lives forever marked by this horrendous historical time. They pointed to the window of their once jail-like home, where they shared their small room with 30 or so others. Most of those “roommates” were shipped out over time, continually replaced with new faces, only to be shipped out again and again. So many of the teens they lived with were tragically transported to a place even darker in history: Auschwitz-Birkenau.

This photo (above) shows Frieda and Eva in front of their “barracks” during their internment.

A recreated room in the women’s living quarters:


Terezin is now freshly painted and beautifully planted with flowers. The newly spruced up town sadly belies its tragic history, from a visual perspective. Approximately 1,000 people returned to live in Terezin, but one wonders how they can bear to do so. Our guide, a young man trained in the vocation of being a Terezin tour guide admitted he could not imagine living within the walls of a town where such history took place.

Terezin Reflections - Chapter 2

Terezin Reflections - Chapter 2
By Rachel Nathanson



From June 24 - July 4, 2010 the Holocaust Center, in partnership with Museum Without Walls, organized a Holocaust study trip to Budapest and Prague. Frieda S., a survivor from Terezin, and her daughter Dee (also the Co-Executive Director of the Holocaust Center) participated in the trip and shared the group invaluable first hand experiences. Eva, a survivor of Terezin who had been in the barracks with Frieda, met up with us. Below Rachel Nathanson, one of the Holocaust Center's board members and a participant on the trip, describes some of sites and shares her thoughts on the experience of visiting Terezin.

Chapter 1
Chapter 3

Chapter 4

The Ghetto
While Terezin was not a death camp, it was not without its own atrocities and death. The numbers vary throughout accounts, but around 140,000 people were deported to Terezin between 1941 and 1945, with an additional 15,000 arriving in the last days of the war. Of these, about 35,000 died in the ghetto itself, and about 88,000 were sent to Auschwitz and other extermination camps.

The town’s original inhabitants of about 5,000 people were forced to relocate by the Nazi party and were replaced over time by about 55,000 Jews. These overcrowding conditions lead to many deaths and unspeakable living conditions for all.

It is one thing to read accounts of the Holocaust, and quite another to stand on the hallowed ground of these historic sites. And to do so with two valiant survivors, two amazingly strong women, was a unique experience for me, one I am truly grateful for. Frieda and Eva, both from mixed-religion families, noted that they grew up in a time when religion was not critical to family structure. Many families of mixed-religion raised one child as a Jew and the next as a Catholic. All holidays were observed and national pride was more important than religion.

As mixed-religion children, “mischlings” as labeled by the Germans, Frieda and Eva were told to be on the transport to Terezin upon or near their 14th birthday. Frieda was the 175th person on her transport of 175, from Prague (Praha) on June 9, 1943 as documented on the wall of the Ghetto Museum today:

Terezin Reflections - Chapter 1. By Rachel Nathanson

Terezin Reflections - Chapter 1

July 2010

By Rachel Nathanson

From June 24 - July 4, 2010 the Holocaust Center, in partnership with Museum Without Walls, organized a Holocaust study trip to Budapest and Prague. Frieda S., a survivor from Terezin, and her daughter Dee (also the Co-Executive Director of the Holocaust Center) participated in the trip and shared the group invaluable first hand experiences. Eva, a survivor of Terezin who had been in the barracks with Frieda, met up with us. Below Rachel Nathanson, one of the Holocaust Center's board members and a participant on the trip, describes some of sites and shares her thoughts on the experience of visiting Terezin.

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

I have a 15-year old daughter. She is the age that Frieda and Eva were after spending the first of two years in a concentration work camp in Terezin, Czech Republic. But for a mere 50 years or so (a blink of an eye in the annals of historic time) and the serendipity of being born in America, this could have been my daughter’s experience.

Having been home now for a week, I am still processing all that I saw and learned while participating in a Holocaust educational trip to Hungary and the Czech Republic. It was a transformative experience, and an honor, to learn more about this tragic history from these two women who survived it. Here, I want to share what we saw in Terezin, on an all-too-brief visit on July 2, 2010.

The Fortress
Originally built by the Hapsburg Monarchy (in 1780) as a fortress to protect Prague from invaders, it is a walled city surrounded by a moat. Broken into 2 sections, the “small fortress” was used by the Prague Gestapo as a prison in WWII. The larger “town” portion was used as a ghetto to “concentrate” the Jews, hence the term “concentration camp”.

The entry yard to the small fortress still has the German labels above the doors for the various offices, where the initial processing of prisoners took place. How eerie to stand on the same worn down, wooden floors where efficient Nazi command sent nearly 32,000 prisoners through the gates to hell. On through the archway with the insidious Nazi mockery, “Work Makes One Free”.

Most prisoners were Czech and most were part of the resistance. Many were jailed for having made a joke in the streets about Nazis, for being gay, with the harshest treatment meted out to the Jews.

The largest barracks were first on our tour, used to house the upper level of prisoners. Here there were about 90 men per room, with large bunk beds to be shared, one sink, one latrine, windows, but no heat. From here the rooms got smaller, the crowding greater and the conditions heartbreakingly worse.

The cells holding Jews were smaller. In a room of about 144 square feet, there typically were 55 prisoners. Can you imagine being in a cell with only 2 feet of space to stand in, taking turns to sit or lie down? These cells had one small window high in the wall, no beds, no toilet, no heat, and most importantly, no ventilation. Without adequate oxygen, many perished of suffocation. The solitary cells further along were yet smaller. These cells held only 3-5 prisoners at a time, but the space was frightening. Only about 10 square feet, they had no windows, no light whatsoever, and those held herein would have been plunged into a world of total darkness once the hefty wooden door slammed shut on them. How many lost their sanity in these conditions?

We moved on to the adjacent building where the showers were shown to us. Chilling to us as we all contemplated the more deathly use of showers at the Nazi death camps, but these showers were innocent enough. Prisoners were given a delousing shower once per week. Since they were done in groups of 100 or so, it was an important gathering place for prisoners to see friends and learn who was still alive.

Leaving the walls of the small fortress, we viewed the home of the camp commander and ranking guard housing. The swimming pool dug by hand by prisoners (without the benefit of any tools!), was the sense that housing conditions had improved for someone. Gestapo families raised their children here, showed them the atrocities taking place inside the walls, and were able to sleep at night. It was more than I could mentally grasp. The commander’s home was a huge palace-like structure with a flower-lined drive.

On Holocaust Education - NY Times Op-Ed

On Holocaust Education

I.H.T. Op-Ed Contributor
By ALEKSANDER KWASNIEWSKI
Published: June 28, 2010

In an article on June 18, Kofi Annan, the former secretary general of the United Nations, wrote that the teaching of the Holocaust should focus more on preventing ethnic conflict and genocide.

Before questioning the value of Holocaust education,one should first address its goals:

What, exactly, are we trying to achieve in teaching about the Holocaust? Is it realistic to expect that the study of the Holocaust will diminish human rights abuses and racism, and instead nurture democracy and tolerance? Will mixing the narrative of the Holocaust with other types of atrocities really encourage better human behavior?

Accumulated experience from the field has proven that there are no short cuts. A trip to Auschwitz does not suddenly turn visitors into noble humanitarians. An hour’s lesson on the Holocaust will certainly not prevent the next Rwanda or Darfur.

Some of Kofi Annan’s thoughts, along with those of others, were discussed and debated at a recent Holocaust educators’ conference in which I also participated. Hundreds of educators and decision makers from around the world gathered at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem to grapple with these very questions and challenges.

The younger generations commonly view the Holocaust with indifference. Born in the early 1990s, they tend to view World War II as irrelevant to their everyday lives. Our job is to demonstrate how historical events, including the Holocaust, are unique opportunities to understand the world today. We must show that Holocaust education is a vital tool to glean from the past messages for today.

Superficial Holocaust education leaves no lasting impact. It will not overcome forces of racism and intolerance, or solve enduring social problems. Effective Holocaust education, focusing on the human story within the facts of history, does, however, foster greater understanding of the social processes that can lead to genocide.

Genuine, deep, long-term study of the Holocaust has the power to sensitize people, raise awareness of the other, help identify the preliminary warning signs of genocide, and put the brakes in place.

The Holocaust was the most extreme case of genocide. Indeed, because all the elements are present in the Holocaust — including, but not only: a murderous ideology, technological and bureaucratic means, deligitimization, classification, dispossession and mass murder — it illustrates processes that help us identify the potential for genocide.

Yet we must not delude ourselves: Holocaust education is a relatively recent phenomenon, and the number of primary and secondary school students around the world actually engaged in it is still relatively limited.

In Poland, as in much of Europe, the Holocaust is, and must be, part of our curriculum, present in the public discourse, and at the heart of 20th century European history.

It is the starting point from which Europeans need to address the breakdown of universal values that allowed such a cataclysmic event to occur, and from which we must seek the answers as to how to ensure that such a breakdown can never again happen.

Without being anchored in the defining context of the Holocaust, haphazard exposure to a mélange of disparate conflicts, ethnic cleansings and other atrocities serves only to blur understanding and learning.

While the Holocaust was a unique event, targeting the Jews in particular, its nature lends it universal meaning. Taking place in the heart of civilized Europe in the 20th century, the Holocaust shook the very foundations of our shared existence. Paradoxically, its study contains and provides the very tools for rebuilding that foundation.

Mr. Annan urges us to rethink “traditional” Holocaust education, and indeed, experts at Yad Vashem and other institutions are constantly exploring different avenues in this field. Dedicated educators use all the tools at their disposal to create multidisciplinary, country-specific and age-appropriate Holocaust studies for the long term. They are honing an educational model that adds layers of understanding to our ability to cultivate human rights and tolerance in society and adds depth to our ability to shape a brighter future.


Aleksander Kwasniewski was the president of Poland from 1995 to 2005.

New Museum on Vashon Honors Romani Culture

Morgan Ahern, a long-time supporter of the Holocaust Center and recent addition to the Holocaust Center's Speakers Bureau, is an outspoken voice for Romani culture and rights around the world. Check out her blog at http://lolodiklo.blogspot.com/.

Mobile museum on Vashon honors Romani culture
By ELIZABETH SHEPHERD
Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber Arts Editor
Jul 08 2010, 4:12 PM · UPDATED

Vashon has a new museum, but it doesn’t look like most other museums. For one thing, it’s on wheels.

The Romani Traveling Museum and Education Center is tucked inside a 14-foot, wood-paneled 1967 travel trailer parked in Burton. Inside is a treasure trove of items that speaks to the rich culture of the Romani people, an ethnic group commonly referred to as Gypsies.
Colorful scarves are draped across the ceiling, and vibrant fabrics cover the sofas.Captivating photographs of Romani people from all over the world cover almost every inch of wall space. A small library of books, DVDs and music CDs detailing Gypsy life fill the remaining nooks and crannies.

But the museum is not only a celebration of a lively and exotic culture. It also aims to tell a complex and often heartbreaking story that began almost 1,000 years ago, when the Romani people began to migrate to Europe from India, facing discrimination and persecution wherever they moved.

Orchestrating this remarkable display is Morgan Ahern, an Islander who has devoted much of her life to working as an advocate and documentarian for the Romani people. A tall, striking woman, she bears the distinctive look of her heritage — a warm olive complexion and huge brown eyes characteristic of many Romani people...Read Article

New Resources in the Library

New resources availble to borrow from the Holocaust Center's library. For more information, or to borrow books, please email Janna at admin@wsherc.org.

Remember - if you want to purchase the book from Amazon.com, please first go to www.wsherc.org and enter the title or key word into the Amazon search box on the homepage. Amazon will donate a small percentage of your purchase to the Holocaust Center.

A Partisan from Vilna. By Rachel Margolis. 2010.
One of the last surviving partisans of Vilna, Rachel Margolis has written a vivid and compelling accoung of the murder of Lithuania's Jews, and of the battle for survival and dignity amongst those who escaped.

Between the Two Rivers: A Story of the Armenian Genocide. By Aida Kouyoumjian. 2010.
Ms. Kouyoumjian is a member of the Holocaust Center Speakers Bureau. In this recently published book, she shares the story of her mother, Mannig, a survivor of the Armenian genocide.

Beyond the Never Agains. Produced by the Swedish Government. 2005.
In this book we meet 18 men and women, experienced and knowledgeable experts, all of whom participated in at least one of the Stockholm International Forum (SIF) conferences. We asked their honest opinion about developments on some of the most burning issues for the future. The conferences within the series focused on: The Holocaust - Education, Remembrance, and Research (2000); Combating Intolerance (2001); Truth, Justice and Reconciliation (2002); Preventing Genocide (2004).

Nations Have the Right to Kill: Hitler, the Holocaust and War. By Richard A. Koenigsberg. 2009.

Wall of Resistance - Class Project

Wall of Resistance

Created by students in John Boselman's Humanities class at High Tech High School, in Chula Vista, California. Mr. Bosselman was one of more than 50 teachers participating in the Holocaust Center's pilot project for the "Everyday Objects: Artifacts from Washington State Holocaust Survivors" poster series and curriculum. These materials helped to inform his students.

What is the cost of war to humanity and to the human body?
This project was exhibited at Festival del Sol on March 25, 2010

In 1961 the Soviet Union, in Eastern Germany, constructed a wall that would divide the world into two. In the east, communism and the Soviet Union, while the west “democracy” and the United States battled throughout this Cold War. This wall became the symbol of the division between these two countries and their ideology that ultimately brought the world the closest it has ever been to annihilation.

We asked our students to create their own Wall, focusing on the conflicts of the 20th and 21st century. Each panel of the wall is an answer to their own essential questions and their own perspective on the cost of the war, both to society and to us biologically as humans. It is our hope that this Wall of Resistance is a symbol of how close humanity has come to its annihilation, whether that be of the human race as a whole, the individual human body, or even the individual human cell.

One of the student art pieces, entitled "Work Sets You Free," focuses on World War II and the Holocaust. Mr. Bosselman describes it:
On the left side of the project is a creative representation of World War II the Home Front in America and the use of propaganda, especially by Walt Disney. The right side of the project is the students' depiction of the Holocaust. You can see the contrast between the two sides, Donald Duck on one side, and the silhouette of a human on the other.

To see this piece and others, please see the Wall of Resistance.

Special thanks to John Bosselman for sharing his project and students' work.

Hearing a survivor in Budapest

After so many years of studying and learning about the Holocaust, on Sunday we learned some interesting perspectives about the Holocaust in Hungary from scholar, Laszlo Csosz. As it turns out, each country was so different in what happened to Jewish populations. The Hungarian deportations of 1944 started in the countryside--but did not continue with total deportation of the Jews of Budapest. About 70,000 of them remained in two different ghettos in the city and were liberated by the Russians. The tradgedy of the 1/2 million Hungarian Jews who were being deported to Auschwitz as the Allies were driving west always makes the losses of the Holocaust seem even more tragic and appalling. Add to this that we learned that students today are not required to learn about the Holocaust and do not hear the many survivors who do live here in Budapest. It made out presentation by a local survivor very poignant as she travels to Germany to speak to schools but does not speak in Hungary. Even so, the sun was shining and we were priviledged to hear Eva's story.

Laurie Warshal Cohen

See a photo of Eva of with the group at the Holocaust Center in Budapest on our facebook page.

Photos from Budapest - day 1

New photos on facebook today from our visit to Castle Hill in Budapest, the labyrinth of caves under the hill, archictecture in Pest, and more...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=184847&id=140140310737&saved#!/album.php?aid=184847&id=140140310737

Arrived in Budapest!

Check out our photos on the Holocaust Center's Facebook Page -

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=184847&id=140140310737&saved#!/album.php?aid=184847&id=140140310737

You don't have to be signed into facebook to see them. Or better yet, sign into facebook and become a fan of the Holocaust Center's page so that you can follow our trip!

Arrived in Budapest on Friday evening and ate dinner at the delicious Cyrano restaurant in walking distance from our hotel.

Dinner consisted of Gulash soup or Indian carrot and corn soup, paprika chicken with egg gnocchi (or lentils for the vegetarian), and a wonderful fruit/ginger yogurt.

Our hotel, Budapest Panorama Central Hotel, is really a floor of an apartment-like building. Each floor of the building looks at the Center courtyard. The rooms are small but lovely. The owner of the hotel even provided a bottle of wine for each room.

World Refugee Day

June 20, 2010 is World Refugee Day.

This year's World Refugee Day on June 20th has as its theme, "Home," in recognition of the plight of more than 40 million uprooted people around the world. Around 10 million of them are refugees of special concern to UNHCR...Read more.

East Valley Middle School Hosts Survivors

Julie Scott, a teacher at East Valley Middle School in Spokane, arranges for a Holocaust survivor to speak to her students each year. This is no small task since she must arrange for survivors to fly to Spokane from Western Washington.

Recently, Holocaust survivors Noemi B. and Peter M. spoke at East Valley Middle School.

Julie describes the photos shown here and the experience:

"Eighth grade students at East Valley Middle School listen to Holocaust survivor, Noemi Ban, sharing her experiences during the Nazi occupation of Hungary and in Auschwitz/Birkenau. Students were touched by her story and felt a special connection to her. Several described her as having a warm aura and being like a grandma that they just wanted to hug. She kept them on the edge of their seats, and students said they felt like they were there with her, because she was so descriptive in telling her story."

Speakers Bureau Luncheon and Writing/Art Contest Awards Ceremony

On Sunday, May 23rd, the Holocaust Center hosted its annual Spring Luncheon to honor members of the Speakers Bureau as well as the winners of the Jacob Friedman Writing and Art Contest. Over 150 people attended the luncheon, which took place in the Mercer Island Community Center at Mercer View.

Following Senator Ed Murray’s words of welcome, Speakers Bureau members shared their experiences that took place over the course of the past year. Members gave 255 presentations, sharing stories with 27,268 teachers, students, and community members. They traveled within Washington State as well as other places in Idaho, Oregon, California, Washington D.C., Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic and even Taipei, Taiwan.

The winners of the Jacob Friedman Writing and Art Contest were also recognized at the ceremony. This included 26 students in the 5th/6th, 7th/8th, 9th/10th grade writing and art categories, out of the 750 entries that the Center received. Winners read excerpts from their work and were presented with awards.

The Center would like to extend special thanks to students for the effort they put into the contest and Speakers Bureau members for their dedication to sharing their stories with the community and teaching for humanity.

SJCS Teacher Beth Huppin Receives 2010 Covenant Award

The Holocaust Center congratulates Beth Huppin!

COVENANT FOUNDATION NAMES 2010 AWARDEES FOR EXCELLENCE IN JEWISH EDUCATION


Image at right: Winning art entry from one of Beth Huppin's students, Shai G.

Seattle Jewish Community School teacher Beth Huppin recognized as one of Three Jewish Educators who are Recipients of the Prestigious Covenant Award, and Cited for Innovation, Inspiration and Impact on Jewish Education and Community

2010 Recipients Move Their Students To Take Action
New York – June 1, 2010 – Three exceptional educators from across the spectrum of Jewish life are 2010 recipients of The Covenant Foundation’s prestigious Covenant Award for their commitment to excellence and for designing innovative approaches making lasting impact on students, community and Jewish education.

Beth Huppin, a Judaic Studies teacher at the Seattle Jewish Community School; Jan Darsa, Director of Jewish Education at Facing History and Ourselves in Brookline, MA; and Dr. Bernard Steinberg, President and Director of Harvard Hillel are the 2010 awardees.



“The institutions they have enriched, the programs they have initiated, and the influence they have had on their students, their peers, and the community at large is enormous,” said Eli N. Evans, chairman of the board of directors of The Covenant Foundation. “They do not share one denomination, one pedagogical approach, one teaching venue, or one definition of teaching. The one commonality among these uncommon people is their abiding love of Judaism and the Jewish people and their devotion to the perpetuation of the Jewish heritage.”

The three awardees join 57 other Jewish educators honored with a Covenant Award since the Foundation established the citation in 1991. Each will receive $36,000, and each of their institutions will receive $5,000.

The Foundation and the Jewish community will honor the 2010 Covenant Awardees on Nov. 7 at a gala dinner and award ceremony in New Orleans during the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America.

“The Covenant Award gives deserved recognition to those doing extraordinary, innovative and impactful work on the ground,” said Harlene Winnick Appelman, Executive Director of The Covenant Foundation and 1991 Covenant Award recipient. “Their daily work, often uncelebrated, touches Jews of all ages seeking inclusion and fulfillment in Jewish life, immeasurably strengthening Jewish community and continuity. Each of our 2010 awardees has made it his or her life’s work to call students to action and encourage them to live lives of engagement.”

Beth Huppin has taught day school Judaic Studies at the Seattle Jewish Community School since 1995 and is currently a fifth-grade teacher there. She is also a middle school and adult education teacher at Congregation Beth Shalom in Seattle.

Huppin is widely recognized by colleagues, students, parents and others in the community as an inspiring teacher and leader who puts her stamp on Jewish education by injecting Jewish values and action - both in and out of the classroom - into curricula and the lives of her students.
Not satisfied with transmitting information, she regularly calls her students to action. Once a month, for example, she takes her fifth-grade students at Seattle Jewish Community School to serve meals to homeless persons, and participants have described the experience as transformative.

“The ultimate goal of Jewish education is tikkun olam,” she said. “The continuation of the Jewish people has meaning only if we fulfill God’s commands to repair this broken world.”
Huppin has had a critical impact on the Seattle Jewish Community School’s educational philosophy, has played a guiding role in the development of the Judaic curriculum, and is a mentor to new teachers. She has taught and inspired teachers from around the country at CAJE (Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education) conferences.

Colleagues said she cherishes and thrives among students and teachers and leads by example with her charitable activities, especially among the homeless in the Seattle area.
“Beth has been asked many times to take on the official title of Jewish Studies Coordinator at SJCS,” said Head of School Debra J. G. Butler, who nominated Huppin for the Covenant Award. “Despite the fact that she virtually performs this role, she has refused the title in order not to separate herself from other teachers. Beth is a teacher among teachers. She inspires her colleagues, our elementary school students, and the middle and high school students she teaches in supplementary school programs and the many adults she has taught.”

“In honoring a classroom teacher, the Covenant Foundation honors not just me, but also all those teachers who are in the classroom day in and day out, guiding children and adults to discover the beauty and richness of Torah learning,” said Huppin, who holds degrees from Brandeis University and the University of Judaism. “It honors all of the classroom teachers who, as Heschel said, strive to respond to the call for ‘text people,’ and not only ‘textbooks,’ and who know that caring for each other is the bedrock of Judaism.”

Read full article which includes information on the other recipients...

The Holocaust Center thanks Beth Huppin for her fine work and her dedication to Holocaust education. This past year, one of her students placed second place in the Holocaust Center's writing/art contest.