In the lower commons library, students gathered to learn about the Holocaust through immersive and discussion based activities.
“History without action is simply just trivia,” Museum Education Coordinator at the Holocaust Center for Humanity Charlotte Campbell said.
On Thursday, Feb. 12, UPrep’s Jewish Student Union invited Campbell to speak during Community Time in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day. While the occasion formally occurs on Jan. 27, JSU organized the talk two weeks later due to scheduling conflicts with intensives.
Junior and JSU co-leader Caleb Goldberg came up with the idea during his LaunchPad experience on being Jewish in Seattle. After speaking to multiple people in the Seattle Jewish community, Goldberg noticed that the immense content that history classes tend to cover, doesn’t allow students to fully examine the topic of the Holocaust. With Seattle being such a diverse city, Goldberg recognizes that it’s hard to balance the learning of different cultures.
“There is an ability to go more in depth here,” Goldberg said. “We’re providing that opportunity to for an hour of your time, learn about the Holocaust.”
The event was open to any student who was interested in discussing and learning more about the Holocaust. For an hour, students had the opportunity to examine replicas of artifacts from Holocaust survivors. Each object symbolized different ways that people resisted the Nazi regime—from photos to cigarette cases.
Senior and JSU member Max Cook attended the event, and noticed a lack of students that did not identify as Jewish.
“And that makes me sad cause most of us know that history and realize its importance whereas the people that perhaps would benefit more dramatically were not there,” Cook said.
After the discussion, Cook reflected on Campbell’s message about “history without action.”
“I think this conversation needs to happen everywhere, especially in the context of our current climate,” Cook said. “I think people fail to realize the effects of hateful jokes and polarization among other things, and the Holocaust acts as a prime example.”
