A very wise man once said, “The Holocaust is a chapter in the book of anti-Semitism.” In fact, he said it several times during the Bearing Witness™ Program I attended in 2012. Each time I heard this phrase I was challenged to stop and think about anti-Semitism and the Holocaust in a different way. At first, this idea was new and moved me to really think about the influence of anti-Semitic rhetoric and its place in European society in the early 1900’s. The next time I heard this, I had to examine the role of the Catholic Church in building an anti-Semitic culture as early as the first century A.D. By the end of the week, I recognized that this book of anti-Semitism, this cycle of fearing and hating the “other,” is still being written both abroad and in my own country.
This progression of understanding reflects my overall experience during the Bearing Witness™ Program itself. I went to Washington, D.C. to learn how to better teach the facts and lessons of the Holocaust to my theology classes. A simple desire, based on a personal recognition that the rise of Nazism and the horrors inflicted upon the Jewish people were not the result of one or two people’s ideas and actions but rather of the collective efforts of many individuals and organizations. As the days flew by I realized that I was learning much more than I had ever expected. Testimony from survivors, presentations from diverse speakers, and visits to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Washington Hebrew Congregation and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland enabled me to see how the strands of individual stories and events combine to make our world what it was then and is today. Nothing stands alone.
During the past four years that understanding has changed who I am as a teacher and as a person. I came back to my students ready to teach the Holocaust as much more than one event in history. More importantly I came back with the tools to help my students discover the intimate relationships between history, theology, contemporary events, and their personal lives. I was and am drawn to be involved in activities that promote understanding and unity in my school and community.
David Friedman once said, “The Holocaust is a chapter in the book of anti-Semitism.” I propose that my participation in Bearing Witness™ is a chapter in my book of becoming a better teacher and a more informed and compassionate person.
NCEA is proud to once again partner with the Anti-Defamation League and others in supporting The Eileen Ludwig Greenland National Bearing Witness™ Summer Institute, a six-day, all-expense paid professional development opportunity designed to provide Catholic school educators with the training and resources necessary to bring the lessons of anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, and modern-day prejudice to their students and school communities. Applications are being accepted now through April 22, 2016: middle and high school administrators and teachers of history, social studies, religion, and English language arts are encouraged to apply as are school librarians.
