In Education we have a term which we like to use when we want students to talk freely about their feelings, without concern of judgement. The term we like to use is "Safe Space". Well, given the number of teachers involved in the organization of both the MRH trip and orientation activities, it was no surprise that this term appeared several times prior to, as well as during our discussion times.
After having about a half hour to get aquatinted with one another informally, Orientation began at 9:30am. Sitting in a circle facing one another, we tried to get to know one another quickly. One of the goals that the organizers had for us was to enter the room that morning as strangers, and leave that evening as friends. Given the emotional and mental challenges that this trip presents, having one another to depend on and feeling safe to share our feelings and thoughts was a vital component. In order to achieve these goals, the group was continually broken down into smaller groups of varying sizes. During each break-down we engaged in different activities, such as sharing details about who we are through the phrase "if you knew me, you'd know _______. But if you really knew me, you'd know______".
Additional "get to know you" strategies included reading aloud reflections we had written prior to the trip on an assigned topic. Through this forum, we shared our thoughts, feelings, gaps in knowledge, questions we had about the Holocaust, and points of interest. Working with different partners at each stage, it became easy to quickly put a name to each face, but also to gain a small glimpse into who they were as an individual.
In working with my peers, I quickly realized that we were all fairly different, but that our differences worked well together as we challenged one another in what we thought, questions we considered, and perspectives we took. Together, we developed questions and achieved mutual understandings, learning from one another. Below I note some examples of key ideas and questions that arose during our discussions. In particular, the pieces below challenged my way of thinking about the Holocaust.
1. We realize the importance of our voices when we are forced to be silent.
2. Was the Holocaust avoidable, or had society produced a path for it's eventual realization?
3. The Holocaust does not stand alone in the past or the present as an event of destruction, hatred, and genocide - rather, such atrocities continue on today all over the world, and too often in our own backyards.
4. The fundamental goal of Holocaust Education is "To Tell the story". However, we feel uncomfortable teaching these topics when we feel that the stories we tell are not ours, so these experiences are vital in coming to develop our own story from which we can draw on when teaching others.
After having such deep and meaningful conversations with people who, only a few hours prior were complete strangers, it was wonderful to see that this trip was going to be incredible not solely because of the historical sites we would visit, but also what I would learn from those around me as they shared their perspective and worldview.
In the afternoon we held a session of "World Café" - a discussion platform in which topics are posted at different stations and the groups rotate between stations, addressing relevant questions, sharing opinions, and reviewing information. In this session, 3 stations were posted:
1. Victims of the Holocaust
2. Anti-semitism
3. The paradigm (perpetrator, victim, bystander, helper)
At each station our group shared key points that we derived from our own worldviews and understanding of the Holocaust. I have summarized our points below:
1. Victims of the Holocaust
- Everyone has a different story, different way of telling their story, and comfort level in sharing their experience.
- Victims of the Holocaust were not only Jewish, as assumed by most and presented in the majority of media forums. Rather, victims included Gypsies (Roma & Sinti), Homosexuals, Disabled, Communists, Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as those deemed "asocial", a broad category used as a "fill-in-the-blanks" for those deemed undesirable for the Aryan race. From this, the question arose: "How do we recognize each group of victims without detracting the stories of others?
- The victims of the Holocaust remain victims of oppression to this date.
- Trauma from these events are intergenerational. The effects had on the survivors of the Holocaust did not end with them, but affected their children as well on a deep level, just as we see with the struggles visible in the First Nations community as a result of the cultural oppression experienced.
- We cannot compare levels of suffering or oppression.
- If we remember the people in our lives - friends, family, loved ones - who would have been targeted in the Holocaust, the severity of it all becomes a lot more real.
2. Antisemitism
- There are a lot of myths about Jews that existed in society long before Hitler came to power.
- Hitler didn't invent anti-Semitism - he built upon long-developed hatreds and stereotypes already embedded in society.
- Antisemitism exists to this day
3. The Paradigm (perpetrator, victim, bystander, helper)
- It isn't easy to tell the 4 categories apart as people didn't always fit perfectly into a single category. For example, Schindler. He profited from the oppression and enslavement of the Jews, was a proud Nazi member, was a bystander for many years, and later became a helper of the people, recognized as righteous among the nations. Another example is the Judenrat, the Jewish council appointed in the Ghettos who were responsible for caring for the needs of the people, distributing work, food, etc. However, they were also responsible for sending individuals to the camps to be forced into labour or to be murdered.
- Hindsight is 20/20.
- It is easy to judge and point fingers. It is more difficult to ask what role we would have played in their situation. Would we have been the oppressor? The bystander? The helper?
- The more power you have, the greater responsibility you have to bring about change - a topic that I will get into more in my later posts.
History lessons, discussions, reflections, group sharing, and stories from survivors were other items that were included in the orientation of the day. It was clear that the group shared a mentality which made us work together cohesively, a great feat to achieve in a mere 6 hours for over 30 strangers. It was true though, that by 3:30 pm when we left for the airport, none of us felt like strangers anymore. I can safely say that I am so excited to get to know each of these people better over the next 10 days!
I hope some of what I learned was maybe new to you, or caused you to ask yourself new questions; to be challenged in some form. I certainly know that these next 10 days will be life-altering for me as my perspective and knowledge change shape, growing through my experiences and the amazing people that I will share these memories with. I'll keep you all posted on the details as they come :)
Next Blog: Berlin Day 1
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