30th Anniversary Guardians Commemorative Book - Book - Page 190
INVESTING IN
EDUCATION
When I was a child in
Boston in the 1940s,
my aunt was the
president of HIAS—
the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
From the time I was 12 or 13, I would
go with her to the Boston docks,
where we would meet Holocaust
survivors who were coming to
this country from the camps. My
aunt would bring them back to her
apartment and feed them, so I spent
a lot of time with survivors as a
young girl. I saw how starved and
haggard they were; how some were
happy to be here while others were
very angry and depressed. These
experiences ignited within me a
lifelong interest in the Holocaust.
Since then, I’ve been concerned
about communicating the lessons
of the Holocaust, especially to
young people. Our youth need to
understand the importance of not
being bystanders and the need to
take action to counteract prejudice.
This was a mission I shared with
my husband, Shelley, who passed
188 l UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM LEGACY OF LIGHT GUARDIANS
away very suddenly in August
2007, just days after we had been
at the Museum for the unveiling of
our names on the Founders Wall.
I wanted to honor his memory
through this legacy gift, which
supports the Regional Education
Corps. Teachers come to the
Museum from around the country,
many from places where children
have never heard of the Holocaust
or even met anyone Jewish. When
teachers return to their middle and
high schools, they can teach the
Holocaust effectively and train other
teachers as well.
This education not only makes young
people aware of what happened,
it also helps them understand that
it can happen again—in fact, it is
happening again. So, we must always
be watchful and humane, and learn
how to eliminate the prejudices that
can lead to such cruelty.”
