The Daniel Pearl Education Center recently reprised its annual Washington, DC trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for area students.
More than 60 students from Temple B’nai Shalom, Hatikvah International Academy Charter School and St. Bartholomew’s School participated in this year’s trip — the first DPEC trip after a three-year layoff caused by the pandemic.
The students, along with parents and chaperones, spent about three hours quietly touring the museum. After lunch, they participated in a discussion with Rebecca Carter-Chand, director of the Museum’s Programs on Ethics, Religion and the Holocaust.
In addition to the visit to the Museum, the trip participants visited the Lincoln Memorial and also had the opportunity to stand on the spot where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his historic “I have a dream” speech in 1963. The trip also included a walk past the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Following the trip, DPEC chair Dr. Andy Boyarsky received the following two thank-you notes from Hatikvah students:
Dear Dr. Boyarsky,
I would like to thank you for the incredible chance to experience a broad spectrum of educational opportunities, including the various videos, poems, and artifacts that the museum introduced to us. Additionally, other remarkable opportunities included: being able to speak to two Holocaust survivors, listening to a professional speaker, and visiting the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
My grade is full of many students from a multitude of backgrounds. While many of us have studied and read all about the Holocaust, there were just as many others who knew it just as a story of history, or barely knew about it at all. Even the people who thought they knew all about the Holocaust, gained a completely new perspective on the genocide.
We have learned that we cannot censor ourselves from tough topics because they are upsetting. It is important to push through and learn and learn to teach others so that they can teach future generations; so that there are no more lives lost at the sake of hate and utter stupidity.
When walking through the halls of the museum, it was easy to lose track of space and time. So much of it was hard to gain a deep understanding of each individual who had to face the terror of the Holocaust.
The poems throughout the museum were constant reminders of reality. One poem in particular can make anyone understand how despicable the Holocaust truly was: “There were not six million Jews murdered; there was one murder, six million times.” — Abel Herzberg.
Each murder was that of an individual, a person who was a child, a father or mother, brother or sister. We will never know the fear and terror that each victim felt as they faced death. It is too late to fix what happened in the past. All that we can do now is remember each survivor, each story, and each life that was gruesomely taken away from this world. Thanks to you, more people every year have the chance to remember those who have been lost and those who will never be forgotten. More people know now to stand up for each other, and to stand with each other.
Another meaningful statement was this: First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me. — Martin Niemöller
Life cannot be fueled by power and by hate. It must come from unity and overall support. One person remembering is not enough. They need to get everyone else around them remembering as well. It is important to get others to know what happened well enough so that they can picture it in their minds. So that they can see change and avoid repetition. The Daniel Pearl Education Center does just that. I believe that I can speak for everyone when I say that we are incredibly appreciative of everything that was able to happen in order for us to learn and participate in this remarkable trip.
It was an extremely nice cherry on top to also be able to visit the Lincoln Memorial, which is a lot larger than expected, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which helps us to remember the brave Americans who lost their lives during the Vietnam War.
Again, thank you so much for this one-of-a-kind experience, that everyone involved will remember.
Sincerely,
Libby Peckman
Dear Dr. Boyarsky,
My name is Ma’ayan Hochman, an 8th-grade Hatikvah International Academy Charter School student.
I am writing to you today to express my utmost gratitude for your generous support, helping students understand the horrors of the Holocaust and why we should never forget and make sure others remember this horrific period in Jewish history.
Your generosity allowed more than thirty students from Hatikvah to go on a day trip and visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. By funding this trip, your organization made it possible for students like myself to learn visually and better understand how these atrocities became a reality fewer than 100 years ago; why we should always ensure everyone remembers the horrendous events that occurred around World War II.
I believe the trip was eye-opening for many of us, as it was for me. The trip explained why I should be proud to be Jewish and a guardian of Jewish heritage. The trip visualized the magnitude of this horrific event, where you see shoes packed over shoes and more shoes – but there is no one to wear the shoes. Or the path taken to the gas chambers. It was hard on many of us, and the sadness drowned us, but I feel it is essential for any human to see the sadness that affected so many.
This day trip was an essential educational experience that I am so happy I attended. The trip taught me that we should never forget what happened to the millions of victims of the Holocaust, and that we should always remember to tell the story of these atrocities and stand up to those who come after us. Thank you!
Yours truly,
Ma’ayan Hochman