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Feature Stories (Vol. 109 No. 46--11/14/2007)

KHS juniors remember Holocaust victims

By Caroline Downs

A routine class assignment at Kenmare High School has evolved into a statement promoting tolerance and remembrance for the juniors in Julie Burkhart’s and Robin Carlson’s English classes.

The students recently read Night by Elie Wiesel, written in 1958 as the record of Wiesel’s horrific experiences as a Jewish teen during the Holocaust when he was sent to the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps in 1944. Wiesel, who witnessed the death of his family and countless others, survived to become a writer, professor, speaker and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

According to Burkhart, juniors at KHS read Night every year as part of the regular curriculum. This year, however, the students reacted so strongly to the story that Burkhart and Carlson asked them to respond at a deeper level.

"In class, every time we discussed the book, everyone had questions," Stephanie Barnhart wrote in her essay about the story. "‘Why did they do this? Who kept them there? When did that happen?’ There are no answers except that we had to ask those horrible questions in the first place. The fact that, still, 70 years later we cannot find sufficient explanations remains in and of itself the most powerful lesson from the Holocaust."

Kristi Borud agreed. "There are so many questions I have about this," she wrote. "But all the questions...I have will never be answered. Most of them cannot be answered because there is no answer."

"The kids kept asking, ‘How can someone do something like this? Why doesn’t somebody stop them?’" Burkhart said. "Well, they showed me the way, so many different ways."

Students designed projects to remember and honor the victims. Their creative responses ran the gamut from oral reports to art objects. Lexi Colby invited the class to join her in releasing white balloons. Kaleen Schmit intends to plant a tree on the school grounds next spring as a living tribute.

Several students completed original drawings and posters that often included symbols, such as the six-pointed Star of David and the yellow star labels for Jews, and words or quotes related to tolerance. Ryan Thompson depicted the victims in a stained-glass work with their hands reaching above red and orange flames.

Alex Steinberger showed a video of his grandfather discussing his part in the liberation of prison camps at the end of World War II. Tyler Goettle designed the game "Jewopoly" with squares such as "Board train" and "Captured." Four of the game squares result in the player’s death. "It’s hard to win," he said, adding he made that deliberate choice as he built the gameboard. "A lot of the Jews died."

Marci Johnson researched the biographies of 19 male and female Holocaust victims, one for each member of her English class, similar to cards distributed to visitors at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. In Johnson’s collection, three girls and four boys survived the ordeal, reflecting the percentage of the Jewish population that lived through the Holocaust.

Three students used music as their medium. Barnhart described composing an original piece for piano. "It was depressing to write," she said. "The book came out through the piano. It wasn’t even me doing the work."

Melissa Carlson wrote new lyrics to one of her favorite songs and called it "Never." She wrote the song from the prisoners’ perspective, including the chorus: "Never fail, never give up even with all the hatred. Never blame yourself. Remember God is here, even when things are so severe."

Craig Goettle was concerned about the impact of the past on the future and expressed himself with a new song written for guitar. He ends the song with the words, "Helpin’ one another to change the future, Gotta start one day at a time, We can change the lives of billions of people, If we would just take the time. We can change lives, If we just take the time, We don’t gotta go back in time."

Because of the students’ continued interest. Burkhart has been looking for a Holocaust survivor to speak with the classes. She received a letter from one North Dakota survivor’s son, who informed her his parents had passed away.

The man also wrote, "I don’t think either of my parents would have spoken about their experiences. They went on with their lives but did not discuss the horror that they went through. Please persist in your efforts to teach the next generation about the Holocaust and emphasize the importance of tolerance."

Burkhart continues her search for a Holocaust survivor and asks help from the public. If anyone can assist Burkhart with this matter, contact her at Kenmare High School, 701-385-4996.