Wednesday, Septembder 5, 2001
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Wednesday, Septembder 5, 2001 |
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Holocaust survivor visits Fayette Middle School More than 300 eighth graders recently gathered in the cafeteria of Fayette Middle School to listen to the story of a real life holocaust survivor whose life somewhat paralleled that of Anne Frank's. Survivor Andre Kessler told students how he and his mother had to hide out in their apartment in Romania after his father was arrested and taken to a Jewish labor camp during the Holocaust. For almost two years, Kessler says he saw nothing outside of his parents' apartment. All windows were blacked out and towels were stuffed under the doors to stifle any noises from the apartment. Unlike Anne Frank, Kessler and his mother were able to stay in hiding until Russia liberated Romania in 1945. "I owe my life to a righteous gentile who was the superintendent of my apartment building. He was able to keep my mother and me safe until everything was over," Kessler told students. Interested students listened intensely to Kessler's story. Kessler brought a real life perspective to a part of history that the students are currently studying at the school. Normally curriculum surrounding the Holocaust is taught in the spring, but the English department at Fayette Middle opted to present it to students this fall because one of the department's teachers has been cast for a part in the Southside Theatre Guild's production of "Anne Frank." Lynn Outlaw, eighth grade English teacher, will play the role of Edith Frank, Anne Frank's mother, when the play opens Sept. 20 in Fairburn. All eighth grade students have been invited to attend the production. In preparation for Kessler's visit, students studied the "Diary of Anne Frank," Holocaust vocabulary and the chronology of events between 1943 and 1945, as well as viewed videos of other Holocaust survivors. "Having Mr. Kessler speak to our students gives greater meaning to everything that the children have been studying. His recollection of the horrific things that happened will help the students better understand the 'Diary of Anne Frank' as well as the play when they see it," said Outlaw. Thanks to Outlaw, students at Fayette Middle were privileged to hear an account of what happened during the Holocaust by someone who lived through it. When students started reading the "Dairy of Anne Frank," Outlaw decided to approach the Breman William Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta to arrange for a guest speaker to come to the school. "I told the students that they were very privileged to have the opportunity to hear from an actual survivor. This is something that their children and grandchildren will not have the opportunity to be exposed to. By hearing a real life account of what happened, they have the knowledge that they can pass down for all of humanity," said Outlaw. To show their appreciation, the students at the school are in the process of writing letters to Kessler to thank him for his willingness to share his story with them. "People often ask me why I spend my time going to various schools and organizations to talk about the Holocaust. I tell them that it's important that we talk about it and keep the knowledge of it alive so that we don't repeat history in the future," said Kessler at the closing of his talk. Eighth graders at Fayette Middle will continue to study the "Diary of Anne Frank" and the Holocaust through the first nine weeks of school. Students will pick up studies on the Holocaust again in the spring through their social studies classes.
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