Student Letters

These are letters written by students who participated in the Wings Of Witness Workshops

When you came on Friday because of the "Wings of Witness" program, you made me think about how racism is a bad thing. You made me think about how many innocent people died, especially innocent little children. You made me think about my own future. After September 11, many people in this country blamed the entire Muslim population for the hideous act of a few terrorists who happened to be Muslim. These men also killed innocent people. It is a shame that humanity did not learn enough from the Holocaust to prevent September 11 from happening. As a Muslim person, I am ashamed of the terrorists who caused suffering to thousands of people. Therefore, I could relate to what you told us about the Holocaust because I felt the pain and suffering of the children who experienced a tragedy at such a young age. Thank you for your contribution to achieve understanding between the people who happen to be different from one another. Keep up the good work.

7th Grade Student, Pierre Van Cortland Middle School, New York 

Last week, a man named Mr. Schrier came to our school. He wanted us to help him make butterfly shaped wings for a Holocaust memorial made out of 6 million pop-tops. He was going around the country asking other kids do the same thing.

I felt that his was important to me because my grandfather was in Auschwitz for four months before the war ended. Except for him, his entire family was killed. Murdered. I dedicated every single pop-top I used to every single member of my grandfather's family who died there. On Friday, I will bring in translated postcards from Vienna, Austria in 1938

John Paul Courtney, 7th Grade Student, Pierre Van Cortland Middle School

See John Paul's Memorial to his Grandfather who survived three concentration camps and to his other family members destroyed by the Nazis.

I think Mr. Schrier's idea with the feathers made out of soda can tabs was very creative. It was a really good way for him to connect with our history and abused ancestors. I liked it because he took something that we use, see, and throw away in everyday life, and turned it into a historic monument. It might not have meant much to many, but for others it was a historical symbol. It seems like it's going to take a lot of time, community participation, and a lot of hard work to compete the butterfly. To make it into a butterfly was a very interesting idea. He takes the story about the Spanish Ghetto and turns it into a very interesting, sad story. It is good that he acted upon the acts of the Holocaust and let everybody take part in it to help him out. Everybody seemed so willing and caring to help him out. And I finally realized how many people were killed during the tragedy. I can't and don't even want to imagine if each cap was the size of an adult how big the butterfly would be. I don't think that I'll ever forget what he did for everybody. I hope that one day, I'll actually see his work art, the butterfly. I will be able to tell my children or grandchildren that I helped him with that piece of work. 

7th Grade Student, Pierre Van Cortland Middle School, New York 

Dear Mr. Jeffrey Schrier,
I would just like to thank you for giving up your time to talk to me about the holocaust. I think what you are trying to accomplish is so wonderful. Because if we were to look at something like the butterfly every day we would be reminded of the holocaust and the horrible things Adolph Hitler tried to accomplish. If we were reminded of these horrible things he did every day then the chances of something like this happening again would be really rear. I also think that not that many people would try to honor the Jews like you are. So I think you are one of god's angels because you are helping out gods chosen people. The experience with the wings of witness helped me understand better how many people actually died and how horrible it was, because I used to think Hitler was a genius but now I think he is a lame. Thank you again.
Sincerely, Student, Rio Contiguo School

 

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Student Memorials, Poetry, Art

These are student responses inspired by participation in the Wings Of Witness program

	John Paul Courtney's Memorial - Pierre Van Cortland Middle School
	Sofie H's Memorial  - Robert E. Bell Middle School
	Student Art & Poetry

 

A Tribute to my Ancestors And 6 Million Others Who Died in the Holocaust   By John Paul Courtney     John's family provided this photo of Karel Frohlich, below, for this memorial presentation.                  My Grandfather Karel Frohlich, Czech violinist 1917-1994 He was the only member of his immediate and extended family in Europe to survive the Holocaust. He survived Terezin, Buchenwald, and Auschwitz camps. He met my Grandmother, a pianist, in Paris after the war and they arrived in the US in 1948               This 1948 article describes my Grandfather's wartime ordeal and his survival             My Great-Grandmother Rosa Frohlich 1887-1941 Widowed in 1933. My Great-Grandmother was gassed and cremated in 1941 at Auschwitz       This is a postcard sent to my Great-grandmother from her Cousin Irma. It describes conditions for the Jews in Vienna in 1938     Click Here to Read Post Card Translation         My Great-Uncle Paul Hans Frohlich 1920-1941 Younger brother to Karel. He went to Auschwitz and died of Typhoid fever in 1941       My great-Uncle wrote this letter to Florence, his American cousin, in 1939. He hoped to come to the US soon but was deported to Auschwitz a year later and died in 1941                 John's family provided this photo of Karel Frohlich, center, for this memorial presentation.  "Inmates of the notorious 'model' concentration camp at Terezin perform in the 1944 Nazi propaganda film 'The Fuhrer Gives The Jews A City' "       Sofie H - Robert E. Bell Middle School This is my memorial to the victims of the Holocaust I cannot relate to the horrors they went through. I cannot tell them that everything is going to be all right. I do not have enough tears for all the victims that died and for all the tragedies the survivors had to live through. I cannot let the memories of the Holocaust get lost in time. That is way it is important to remind the world that the terror they went through should never be repeated. That is why I am making this memorial, for the victims of the Holocaust and for their stories, which should never be forgotten. THE BOX The circular box represents how the world is connected. The Holocaust was a worldwide affair, a timeless tragedy, which could only be represented by a circle. Just as the circle never ends, so the memory of the Holocaust must continue forever, to remind people all over the world that this appalling nightmare can never be repeated. THE OUTSIDE The outside of the box is decorated with around one hundred names of victims of the Holocaust. Some of these people survived the Holocaust; some of those are alive today. But most of these names are of children who died in the Holocaust. I used blue tissue paper and white printer paper because blue and white are the colors of the Israeli flag. Yellow is the color of the star the Jews had to wear in the ghetto. THE SAND When you look at this memorial you will see the sand, which represents the multitudes of people who were affected by the Holocaust. The uncountable grains of sand represent each of the eleven million who perished, the six million Jews and the five million other minorities. There is also sand for every man and woman who helped save the life of a victim of the Holocaust, for every man or woman who died in battle trying to overpower the Nazis, for every person who sat by the radio in the safety of their own home with tears in their eyes, because all they could do was have faith and pray. THE MIRROR The mirror gives us, the world, the chance to reflect on our actions, to reflect on the death of the millions of lives that were brutally murdered. It reminds us that we should not only be looking at ourselves on the surface but inside us as well. The mirror gives us a chance to improve on what we see reflected for the future, not only our appearance but also our behavior. But this mirror is shattered. The mirror is shattered to represent the eleven million slaughtered humans whose lives were "shattered" because of their race and religion. The mirror is shattered into seven pieces, the seven days of creation, which gives us hope. We can recreate the world, and work to rebuild a global community based on acceptance and peace, not hatred. THE CANDLE The candle is a symbol for the human race. A candle is like human life, it breathes oxygen, lives and dies. The candle is also a way to mourn for the dead in the Jewish religion. When a family member dies a candle burns for 24 hours. This candle won’t burn for 24 hours, but it will be our way of mourning for the people who died during the Holocaust. My generation is the last generation to be able to hear first hand the stories of survivors. It is important that we are educated to pass on the memories of these terrible years.     Student Art & Poetry This is a selection of student responses, in the form of poetry and art work, to their participation in the Wings Of Witness program. Another View They all line up,  helpless and weak. But I am as helpless as they are. My commander yells, "Fire" and I shoot. I know that it is wrong, but I do not know right.  I have been taught to hate.  I cannot bear their screams, but I do not know their pain.  And yet, I shoot on I must. Looking into their eyes, I cannot help to care, to feel, to cry. Looking at my commander, I know that it must be my fate. I am here,  and doing this for a reason. A reason that I do not know or understand. (7th Grade Student, Pierre Van Cortland Middle School, NY) The Last Smile The dirty train, The dirty camp, No blue sky today, Not a smile, A last smile, to cheer me up today.  The line of judgment, The line of fate, The line of hope and despair, Line one to life, Line two to death, But both leading to despair. It's my time, To meet my fate, Whether I live or die, He looks at me, "Line two!" he says, It's my time to die. The dirty train, The dirty camp, No blue sky that I can see, The man gives me a smile, And he knows this smile, Is the last one that I'll see.  (7th Grade Student, Pierre Van Cortland Middle School, NY) Poem So many skeletons walk in the fenced-in area. Their pale skin outlines the bones that are longing to crack.  Something is missing from this bone yard. Food.  They walk stiffly, strange, like mummies.  Dried of a soul and heart cut out.  Their spirit will always try to float to the after-life--if there is any.  Soon they will die, one by one, slowly and painfully. Hatred sneaks up with its club of spikes  and smashes their weak bodies to the ground.  While the men, fat and full, sit in their offices and give commands  as they chew on a chicken bone and smile at their progress (7th Grade Student, Pierre Van Cortland Middle School, NY) Butterfly I slowly crawl to get my food. I am weak and tired, but I will still get my food.  I hide in fear, waiting for fiends to go on their way.  But I will still get my food. It is closer now.  I can rest now. A well-deserved rest. When I wake up, you can find me in the sky with the birds. I am now a butterfly.  (7th Grade Student, Pierre Van Cortland Middle School, NY) Wings of Witness I don't know how you feel. I don't think I ever will. What you went through, I could never compare. But to show you my love and compassion, and to let you know I'm always here, I have made this for you. A butterfly with wings of love. May all the hard times and struggle be swept away.  I wish I could've helped you.  But now I never will. All I can do is pray, And love you till the end of time.  (7th Grade Student, Pierre Van Cortland Middle School, NY) On Wings of A Butterfly On wings of a butterfly, We all can be saved, Soaring freely into the sunlight. On wings of a butterfly, We all are safe, Flying with the wind. On wings of a butterfly, We will all have helped, And we will have come together, On wings of a butterfly (7th Grade Student, Pierre Van Cortland Middle School, NY) The Dark Side of The Butterfly Here it comes, flying straight and true, on a gentle breeze,  heading for you , colorful and pretty , yet ugly at the same time,   who made it that way you think, but still it  looks just fine,  as it comes toward you, it looks like a picture you once drew,  but yet it is not perfect, as its drifts by, you realize  that you are seeing the dark side of the butterfly (7th Grade Student, Pierre Van Cortland Middle School, NY) Who Will Remember by Michael M. This train flies by through the cold dark air. This train swiftly flies by, and yet I know not where.     I am cold, and cannot breath as death reveals his frosty seath.     I stand in the dark as this train flies by. And suddenly I begin to cry, for I know not where I'm going     Suddenly some light, I know not where, then comes much mist through the air.     As I walk down below, I suddenly know, that this is the end. But who will remember me when I die, Who is left to shed a tear and cry. "So young did this martyr die" What We Can't Imagine What we can't imagine, Is what these people went through, The death of millions of uncounted people. But the wings of those still remain, Only because they left them to stand proud. They didn't fly away Even though they were able to. Their wings could take them anywhere until, Until the hawks They came and killed, Never tired and never full, They killed them all Making race such a small amount, They thought of nothing else. The wings come back, The wings of love The wings of death The wings of witness. Wings Wings of Witness is its name, Recognizing tragedy is its game. Holocaust victims are relieved to know, That you and I are not the foe. The massive wings are meant to be, Dominant symbols of liberty. The soda tabs, so trivial and small, Are clear cut symbols of those who fall. Jeffrey Schrier and students of North, Would love to help, our love we put forth,. This enlightening work of art, Will help to heal our wounded heart. For those who were slain in times of death, Our heart go to you, every breath, every breath Survivor Some deserted their families Others were taken away But the thing that remains Is the proof of those that say "He killed 6 million Jews But he left me here to break to you the news." Scar One mark will not perish, One cannot be forgotten, Such a deep wound left behind,     Remains to remind, Of the lives taken, Of the families broken, Of the children that never received their chance,     To remind us, Of the senseless acts of hate, Of the resentment, Of the bloodshed of our fellow men.     The child that falls will bleed.     A scar formed,         Reminds him, Of the incident that caused it, The incident that hurt him. Will this child repeat the fall? He will see the scar, Learn never to repeat his mistake. One man has uncovered a scar, Brought it out, Open, For all to see. For all to learn from. Let us all remember what scarred our world, The mistake made. Let us know not to repeat it. We will see the scar, And we will remember.     Remember the killngs,     Remember the lives,     Remember the prejudice,     Remember this scar,          As the Holocaust. This man has told us of the scar. He remembers. He is one who is not afraid. One who will not ignore, One who will not pretend it didn't happen, One who will remember the mistake. One who will expose this scar so all can see. Wings of Witness, Fly, Teach us, Tell us, Of the scar. So we will remember, Not repeat the mistake. Let us live in harmony, Wings of Witness, Soar, And tell your story to the world The feather and the wing As the gun barrels surrounded them The wings came swooping low He handed out fake passports Which let the people go. As the people went The guns don't shoot The people say great thanks to you. They are now free And so are we We thank you for your heroism. And so tonight with sculptor Jeffrey Schrier We learned to build a feather. The feathers are made from eleven million soda tabs But the true thing is Each tab holds eleven million peoples souls. To them let us hope they did not die in vain, Because they lost their lives From a man that was insane. The wings that helped them fly away We helped to build tonight. With G-ds help and peace will let their spirits rest