The Messianic Times - International Messianic Jewish News and Information

The brutality and complexity of the Holocaust is daunting enough to those who attempt to explain it. But when it comes to teaching this grim event to children, it takes dedication, sensitivity and a little bravery —especially in a public school setting.

Joy Urbach, a middle school teacher in Denver, Colorado, and wife of Chaim Urbach, Messianic rabbi of Congregation Yeshua Tsion, can relate to the Holocaust. Several of Joy's relatives perished in the death camps and her father-in-law, Eliezer Urbach, is a Messianic Jewish Polish survivor.

But unlike many teachers who are told beforehand what they can and cannot say in a secular classroom, Joy has been given free reign to design special projects that deal with this controversial subject. After notifying the parents in advance, she starts by showing, Paper Clips a documentary about a rural school in Tennessee that finds a unique way to honor the victims of the Holocaust.

"My students are fascinated that people who aren't Jewish could be so concerned," she remarks.

The children are then instructed to select a book from a reading list which includes, Number the Stars, The Devil's Arithmetic, and The Hiding Place. Joy reads excerpts from Daniel's Story to the class, assuring that the content is "realistic enough to give them an overview yet tame enough not to give them nightmares." She believes that more and more juvenile fiction and biographies are on the market today because survivors finally want to tell their story. The class projects include writing a "book reflection," similar to a book report, and to gather information pertaining to a particular aspect of the Holocaust, such as a concentration camp or a specific country that was involved in World War II.

"One student admitted to me that she was ashamed of her German background until I assured her that not all Germans were Nazis. Most of the kids are horrified with when it dawns on them that a happy home and family can be taken away in minutes," says Joy. Some of the children actually cry.

"When they ask why nobody did anything to oppose Hitler and his carnage, I point out that anybody who was considered undesirable or who spoke out against the Third Reich was disposed of quickly. That's why the people who were willing to risk their lives are such heroes. I know this has a lasting impact on the children because many approach me later to tell me about books they have read or films they have seen."

When asked if she thinks a Holocaust could ever happen again, Joy replies, "Yes, under the 'right' circumstances," referring to prophetic passages such as Zechariah 13:8-9 and 14:1–3 that predict a time of distress for Israel. "And with anti-Semitism on the rise, there has to be more information.

As an educator, I feel this is an important step."

Bonnie Friedman, a public school speech and language pathologist, takes an active role in teaching Shabbat school at Ben David Messianic Jewish Congregation in Orange, California, where husband Doug is the Messianic rabbi.

"When our congregation observes Yom HaShoah, parents are given the choice to either keep their children in the service or attend a Shabbat school class," she says. "To set the proper tone at the start of the service, we light six Yahrzeit (memorial) candles to represent the six million Jews who were murdered."

The solemnity of the occasion is accentuated with posters from the Simon Wiesenthal Center depicting the history of the Holocaust, along with somber music from sources such as Schindler's List. Bonnie selects one of her students to read aloud from, "I Never Saw Another Butterfly," a collection of poetry written by children who perished in Terezin. Another young girl is called up to read, "Teddy Bear Under an Eiderdown." There is hardly a dry eye in the congregation.

"We often invite Holocaust survivors to share their life stories," she continues. "When the kids first see the tattooed numbers on their arms, they are appalled. It really brings it home." Mickey Montague, a Jewish survivor, was invited to speak at Ben David in 2005 to commemorate Yom HaShoah. He described it as a miracle of God as he walked away from a line of inmates headed for the gas chambers in front of armed German soldiers and their guard dogs. Mickey said, "It was as if God blinded the soldiers and shut the mouths of the dogs." "When Mickey spoke, everyone was mesmerized.

You could hear a pin drop."

When there isn't a guest speaker scheduled for Yom HaShoah, Bonnie takes a pedagogical approach. Her Shabbat school students learn the meaning of "Holocaust," ("great destruction; mass slaughter"), "Yom HaShoah" (Day of Destruction"), and "Yom HaZikaron" (Day of Remembrance"). She defines terms such as "the final solution," and talks about Adolf Hitler, the methods of extermination and the historic roots of anti-Semitism. As an empiric touch, the children sometimes wear a yellow magen David (Jewish star). If a child questions why Hitler persecuted the Jewish people, she explains that the Nazis considered them to be an inferior race and made them a scapegoat for all of Germany's problems. She teaches that anti-Semitism is still present in this world but admonishes the children to trust in the Lord. "I refer back to Purim and Chanukah to demonstrate that God is faithful to preserve His people."

Bonnie emphasizes that by meeting survivors, her students are equipped to refute those who deny the Holocaust ever occurred. When the children ask why God didn't save the Jews who died, she knows that a trite answer won't suffice. "I respond by saying that sometimes God allows bad things to happen. But had He not intervened, the Nazis would have won. And out of the Holocaust came the re-birth of Israel."

Susan Breza is a speech therapist for severely communicationimpaired children and the principal of Beth Zion Shabbat School in Jackson, New Jersey. She is also the daughter of Holocaust survivors which gives her a personal perspective to the most horrific event of the past century.

"Rather than immediately delving into the history of World War II, I show my Bet ("B") class (ages 7–12) an assortment of family photographs taken in Europe before the war. I tell them about my relatives in Czechoslovakia who were hoping to move to Israel until Czechoslovakia was taken over by Hitler. I also show a postcard written to my father by my three year-old half-brother before he was killed in Auschwitz. (See photo inset, left) The kids are shocked, but this helps to personalize the death of the six million. Then I make the transition into an historic overview, showing the class maps of the countries invaded by Hitler."

The Bet class remains with the adults during Yom HaShoah services. This year, members of the youth group (ages 13–20) will present from "We Are Witnesses," a book about five teenagers who did not survive.

Eugenia Schenker will also share about her life prior to and after being deported. She's a Polish Holocaust survivor who became a believer in Yeshua when she was a child, before she was arrested and sent to Auschwitz. Her miraculous testimony is profound. She was standing in a line of selection, waiting for the infamous Dr. Mengele to send her to the left or the right; life or death. Although her body was covered with sores, Eugenia was not selected for the gas chamber. Susan concludes her lessons and presentations by acknowledging the sinful nature of man, the legacy of survival and the message of hope that God has an ultimate plan for His chosen people.

"From the beginning of time, they have tried to destroy us. Although we've endured near extermination, He always brings us to His next divine plan. My parents never lost their trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is our Deliverer, our Sword and our Shield.

"This is how you defeat Hitler," says Susan. "With faith." MT