Last month students in Christopher Brophy’s Holocaust and Genocide class were visited by special guest Tova Friedman who presented her life story as a survivor of the Holocaust.

“During periods 2-3, Monday, March 13th, students gathered in the auditorium to listen to Friedman recount the events she experienced as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp,” Brophy said.  “Students were able to listen to firsthand experiences of someone who lived during one of the worst genocides in human history, which is becoming a very rare opportunity with each passing day.”

The harrowing tale of Friedman’s imprisonment and escape from Auschwitz is something that opens students’ eyes to the most horrible inhumanity. During the Holocaust, millions of innocent people were slaughtered, and if it hadn’t been for a lucky break, 6-year old Friedman would have been one of them.

Hearing her story gives students a different perspective on human nature and the hardships that one can endure in their life. Studying this tragic event might be very sad, however, it is essential to learn and understand the terrible mistakes of the past so that they will never be repeated.

Reading information from a text book or watching a documentary on a screen is one thing, but talking face to face with someone who has lived through and experienced these horrors firsthand is something that is unmatched. Hearing the voice of the person who was imprisoned in Auschwitz personalizes the lessons of history.

Tova Friedman is a fortunate survivor. Her story is a painful reminder of the capacity of human evil, and of the millions of innocent people who were not so fortunate.  This shaking assembly reminds all to be thankful for the life they live, and sympathetic for those who suffered in the past.