Holocaust Remembrance

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Middle School students heard a presentation from Jody Russell Manning, a history professor at Rowan University and the Associate Director of Rowan’s Center for the Study of The Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights. Jody helped create Rowan’s Holocaust and Genocide Education graduate program, and he runs annual study-abroad programs in Europe and ran Westtown Upper School’s 2023 Holocaust-focused trip to Central Europe. He was the first American intern in the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum from 2005-2009, which continued through his 2010-2011 Fulbright fellowship.  Jody talked with students about the Holocaust from a historical perspective, the importance of remembering and learning about The Holocaust, and how we can honor this history. Afterward, he answered questions from students, and Middle School Counselor Sean Galiczynski held a space for reflection. 

In the Upper School, in preparation for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, students in the Genocide Studies class spent the day with guest lecturer Professor Jody Russell Manning speaking on the topic of memory and memorializing. Students then prepared survivor reflections to supplement an upcoming Yom Ha-Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day, May 5-6) memorial designed by senior Mark Ham ’24 as a capstone project for the Global Leadership Deep Dive program.  International Holocaust Remembrance Day this year marked the 79th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birenua, the Nazi concentration and extermination camp.