3 minute read
Stories That Stay
INSPIRE:
STORIES THAT STAY
The mission of Names, Not Numbers© is to transform the traditional study of the Holocaust into a hands-on educational experience. Students meet survivors in real life, interview them, and preserve their stories in a documentary film to be archived in the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Israel. In this way, the memories, stories, and life lessons of these survivors will inspire future generations to combat anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred and intolerance.
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survivors as well as a secondgeneration daughter of a survivor were interviewed for the movie YOF students participated in the creation of the movie
people watched the Names, Not Numbers© movie online
“Throughout this entire program, the aspect that impacted me the most was the thought that we are the last generation that will have the opportunity to actually meet a Holocaust survivor. My children will not be able to have this type of experience.“
VICTOR BRACA
“Being a participant in the program and getting a chance to interview Holocaust survivor Mrs. Ruth Zimbler was a very meaningful experience. As she described her experiences during this terrible time period in Europe, I was able to visualize how terrifying it must have been to be a Jew during those years, how frightening it must have been to be taken away from all you’d ever known. Meeting someone who lived through it all and survived has been very inspirational.”
SHIRLEY JAJATI
“Having the opportunity to participate in Names, Not Numbers© was an experience that will remain with me forever. While interviewing Holocaust survivor Mrs. Paulette Barrett Singer, many questions kept racing through my mind. As she was telling us her story, I tried to imagine living a life like hers. We must continue to pass along these brave and moving stories about the horrors these survivors faced.”
RUTHY ISRAEL
“The most impactful part of this program, of course, was meeting survivor Mr. Max Lerner. Meeting him and interviewing him allowed me, in a way, to see through his eyes and understand more deeply what it might have been like to live during the Holocaust.”
JOE TAWIL
“I will never forget my experience. As I listened to Professor Smadar Rosensweig describing the difficult times her mother, Dr. Yaffa Eliach A”H, endured during the Holocaust, I was moved by her tragic story. Professor Rosensweig delivered her mother’s story with so much passion. It is important that we continue to pass on these stories so they are never forgotten.”
RENEE FRANCO
“Names, Not Numbers© means so much to me. I feel a personal connection because all of my great-grandparents were in the Holocaust. I am so glad that I got a chance to be a part of this program and that I am able to help these amazing, strong people by continuing to tell their story to the world.”
LAUREN LEYBOVICH
“I will forever remember my experience in Names, Not Numbers©. When I was interviewing my survivor, Dr. Rene David Alkalay, I was touched because when he was telling us stories about his life, he told them with so much emotion. We are lucky we were able to hear the stories from the people who lived through the Holocaust. It is now our generation’s job to pass these stories on.”
SHELLEY SAFDIEH
“Interviewing an actual Holocaust survivor is a whole other experience than just reading a book or watching a movie. As I interviewed Mr. Erwin Foley, a hundred questions were spinning through my mind. I couldn’t believe that I was speaking face-to-face with an Auschwitz survivor, a person who survived a terrifying experience that I still can’t comprehend.”
