WEST ORANGE, NJ – Living Voices visited Roosevelt Middle School on April 25 as part of the school’s Holocaust studies and presented “Through the Eyes of a Friend” to a rapt audience.
Living Voices uses historical perspectives based on real people and events, utilizing live performance with audio/video, visual aids, and discussion. Archival film and photos are synchronized with a live actor to offer a realistic and interactive experience of how the world was during a significant time in history.
Roosevelt Assistant Principal Olivia Betances welcomed guests and students, saying, “The Holocaust wasn't just a tragic event from the past; its lessons still resonate deeply today. By learning about the Holocaust, we not only honor the memory of the millions who perished, but we also gain valuable insights into the consequences of prejudice, discrimination, and unchecked power.”
“Understanding this dark chapter in history helps us cultivate empathy, tolerance, and a commitment to stand up against injustice in our own time,” she continued, “and as future leaders and citizens, it's crucial for us to confront the uncomfortable truths of the past, so we can build a more compassionate and just future for all.”
Roosevelt Social Studies teacher Josh Goldfarb explained, "The Holocaust was the largest and most well-known genocide, in which six million Jews were murdered along with five million others from a number of other groups including people of color, Jehovah’s Witnesses, members of the LGBTQ Community, and the disabled. Sadly, there have been holocausts even after the one I am acknowledging now - in Rwanda, Darfur, Bosnia, Cambodia and Myanmar.”
“What you will take away with you today is the next step in educating yourself about the horror of genocides, so that hopefully we can begin to sweep these events into the dustbin of history,” he added.
“Here at Roosevelt, there are signs you can find throughout the building that proclaim, “Hate Has No Home Here.” It is the obligation and responsibility of everyone here today to carry that message outside these walls as we join in on the chant and motto of the Holocaust’s survivors and demand, “Never Again,” he stated.
Rachel McClinton portrayed “Sara Weis,” a composite character ‘inspired by the experiences and testimonies of many individuals who knew Anne Frank at certain points in her life as well as those young people who experienced the Holocaust throughout Europe.’ Their journey begins when the Frank family moves to Holland when the Nazis come to power. Sara and Anne become good friends and live relatively normal lives until Holland is invaded, and the families go into hiding.
They reunite after the families are captured and sent to Westerbork, then Auschwitz, and finally Bergen-Belsen, where Anne and her sister Margot die of typhoid. Sarah survives and is soon liberated.
McClinton provided a powerful portrait of a terrified young girl experiencing the Holocaust. She also discussed several components of the Nazis' tactics for dehumanizing and categorizing groups of people by badges they were forced to wear: Criminals were marked with green inverted triangles, political prisoners with red, "asocials": nonconformists, vagrants, and other groups with black, or in the case of Roma in some camps, brown triangles. Gay men and men accused of homosexuality were identified with pink triangles. And Jehovah's Witnesses were identified with purple ones. Non-German prisoners were identified by the first letter of the German name for their home country, which was sewn onto their badge. The two triangles forming the Jewish star badge would both be yellow unless the Jewish prisoner was included in one of the other prisoner categories. A Jewish political prisoner, for example, would be identified with a yellow triangle beneath a red triangle. The Nazis required Jews to wear the yellow Star of David, not only in the camps but throughout most of occupied Europe.
As she concluded her remarks, McClinton told the story of the chestnut tree that graced the front of the Frank family home in Amsterdam, now a museum. After learning that the tree was about to die, it was decided to save saplings of the tree and send them around the world. The closest tree to New Jersey can be found at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City.
ELA teacher and event organizer Jay Wecht reflected upon the presentation.
“Here at Roosevelt, we are strong believers in remembering the Holocaust, and we recognize too that now, given what is happening in our world as I speak, remembering the Holocaust has never been more important. What you are about to see is a remarkable program that has become a mainstay of our school. There are few people in this room who are unfamiliar with the remarkable story of Anne Frank. It saddens us all to know that, along with Anne herself, almost everyone Anne was hiding with did not survive the Holocaust. Thankfully, her diary did survive, and we and the millions of other people who share this planet all benefit immeasurably from its survival.”
Wecht also introduced West Orange resident and Holocaust survivor Fran Malkin, who has shared her story at Roosevelt many times.
BOE VP Maria Vera, Council Member Tammy Williams, RMS AP Olivia Betances, Living Voices Rachel McClinton, Jay Wecht, Fran Malkin, Mayor Susan McCartney, Hannah McCartney, Council Member Michelle Casalino, former BOE member Gary Rothstein, resident Larry Rein, ELA Supervisor Liz Veneziano. (Not pictured: Josh Goldfarb and Social Studies Supervisor Mike Figuereido)
"Living Voices" Rachel McClinton presents a moving program
Nazis used a badge identification system throughout Europe and in concentration camps
See Anne Frank's chestnut tree at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City
