SAYREVILLE – Fifth graders at Samsel Upper Elementary School (SUES) in Parlin observed Yom Hashoah in May, which is also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, by listening to the stories of Holocaust survivors.
Learning about the Holocaust is part of the fifth grade curriculum, with a special program collaborated by retired teacher Adele Goldenberg and SUES teacher Gineen Morosco.
Morosco’s great-uncle, Seymour Kaplan, of Brooklyn, New York, was a Homecrest World War II veteran with the 42nd Infantry Division in Munich where his captain brought him to the Dachau concentration camp as a Yiddish interpreter on April 29, 1945.
Since Kaplan was unable to speak with the students, Morosco invited Ilse Loeb of Monroe, who was a hidden child, and Farah Kraus of Brooklyn, who is the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, who speaks on behalf of her grandmother, to share their stories with the children.
“Tell my story. Let no one forget that the Holocaust happened. I am a real person, so it did happen. I am living proof,” Loeb said. “We must never let this happen again. Tell your children when you get older.”
After the presentation, the students wrote personal thank you letters to their guests, and were inspired to write poetry and create art based on their reflection about the presentations.