nothin #71569 Speaks. Cross Listens | New Haven Independent

#71569 Speaks. Cross Listens

Allan Appel Photo

Jamilett Hernandez wanted proof that the Holocaust actually happened. She wanted to see a tattooed Jewish arm.

Number 71569 obliged.

It’s my badge of honor,” Number 71569 said.

The exchange occurred at a riveting assembly at Wilbur Cross High School Tuesday afternoon at which 200 students heard Number 71569 — aka Anita Schorr — describe how she survived Terezin, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen through hope and perseverance.

I am not here to have you pity me,” she said when her address concluded to a standing ovation. They used to say Remember!’ Remember’ is not enough any more. I am here to tell you to take action in the playground” against bullying.

(Click here to read about a similar event that took place across town Tuesday at a parochial school, where the Rwandan genocide was tied to bullying.)

Schorr told her Cross audience none in the free world came to the aid of the Jews as they were humiliated, then isolated, then slaughtered by the Nazis during the 1930s and 1940s. Schorr said, I am asking you to be a hero. Only you can make a better world for yourself.”

Schorr’s message spoke to the students of English and history teachers Karen Robinson, Diana Dima, and Kevin Lipinski, who organized the event. They not only wanted to bring the Holocaust experience alive but to connect it to the lives of their students.

Yolanda Benitez and teacher Robinson.

They’ve been reading Elie Wiesel’s Night. They’ve studied an Anti-Defamation League curriculum that includes a pyramid of hate” that can begin with being a bystander, build up to bullying and end with genocide, said English teacher Karen Robinson.

The unit culminates Wednesday when she and the other teachers plan to bring their non-native English speakers, along with other students, for a visit to the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Manhattan.

One of those students is senior Yolanda Benitez, a Mexican immigrant who has lived in New Haven just five years. She said she saw parallels between her family’s experience and that of the Jews of Europe in the steps leading to genocide: They don’t want them to have a home or medical help.”

When Schorr described how she lost her mother, senior Emmanuel DeLacruz (center) said he was moved, and remembered how his own mother almost died.

Another student asked Schorr how she could resist a desire for revenge since her parents, siblings, and most of her family were murdered. Hatred ruins you as a human being. I prefer to build,” she said, again to applause.

I’ve never seen our kids so engaged,” said Assistant Principal Grace Nathman.

Civics and journalism teacher Jim Brochin added a cautionary note: So many students here feel they’re not safe. The message, be a hero, is both encouraging and a challenge for kids who live in tough neighborhoods because they might put themselves in danger.”

As part of their study, the kids also produced Break the Silence” bracelets that they are selling. Proceeds go to the Anti-Defamation League and to the Holocaust Child Survivor Organization of Connecticut, of which Schorr is a part.

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