Amelia Luscombe
Teacher of Humanities
This term, as part of their study of World War II, the Year 10 History class visited the Melbourne Holocaust Museum. It was a day of education, reflection and developing a better understand of diversity and difference. Students explored an extensive range of artefacts largely donated to the museum by Holocaust survivors, and heard directly from a Holocaust survivor, 99-year-old Abram Goldberg, who shared his testimony with the class. Here are some student reflections from the day:
After listening to Abe’s story, he really opened my mind. His life was really hard during the war, where he lost all his family but he knew that, as his mother had asked him to, one day he would tell his story and share it with the new generations.
I have visited the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam and read her diary, but speaking directly to a survivor made me think retrospectively about all I thought I knew. I believed that I was beyond educated on the subject, but that was proven wrong by Abe, a Holocaust survivor, who lost his entire family at 19-years-old and when the Nazis were defeated, barely an adult, he was expected to move on and start a new life without his friends and family.”
Hearing from Abe taught me not to take things for granted, as you never know what other people have gone through.
It was a valuable experience where we were able to learn an important part of history, and be educated to remember and prevent another occurrence like it
Abe told us his story which will stick with me forever. His hope and courage has influenced me to uphold these values throughout my life.
Being at the Holocaust Museum gave us a new perspective on the Holocaust, not only being given statistics but also personal experiences.
