This article originally appeared in the Summer 2022 Gaynor Gazette
During a year-long elective class, Blue Cluster students both learned about the Holocaust and shared the stories of survivors through the creation of a documentary.
A group of ten Blue Cluster students worked together in partnership with the organization Names, Not Numbers to create an informative film on the Holocaust, interviewing two survivors. Names, Not Numbers is an organization that works with schools all over the country to facilitate interviews and film Holocaust survivors for posterity.
Student Brady T. said, “Meeting a survivor in person is really a hands-on approach, because you get to see it from an actual person who lived it, not an expert behind a computer. I’m not saying you can’t listen to those people, because they do predominantly know what they’re talking about, but these people lived through it.”
Gaynor’s documentary shares the stories of two survivors: Esther Geizhals, who lost many of her family members in concentration camps, and Yvette Siegel-Herzog, who escaped Germany and went on to co-found the Stephen Gaynor School. While the film is not visually graphic, it does tell the story of incomprehensible loss.
Student Madeline Y. said, “It’s an honor to talk to someone who’s a survivor of the Holocaust. I feel that I learned a lot, and I hope people learn not to discriminate against others because of their race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or anything like that, because hating can lead to such a bigger thing.”
In addition to learning about the Holocaust and the individual stories of survivors, students learned interview skills and techniques, how to use professional film equipment, how to frame and capture moments on film, and how to track a film for editing.
Director of the Upper Division Christine Karamanoglou said, “It was an impactful and emotional project. We premiered the documentary in front of an audience of students, parents, and administrators. A week or so later, we were lucky to be able to show the documentary to all of the students in the Blue, Green, and Silver Clusters. After viewing the film, students were able to ask the Blue Cluster student filmmakers questions about the documentary-making process.”
Closing out the documentary, the survivors gave one last message to those watching.
“My message to the new generation: we should tolerate people,” Ms. Geizhals said. “We should love everybody around you. Eliminate the word ‘hate’ from your vocabulary — you don’t need it. If you don’t like somebody, move on. You’ll have a better connection with the next person. And don’t judge anybody by the way they look or the way they talk. We’re all human beings, we all have the same blood.”
Ms. Siegel said, “There’s a way to bring peace and understanding, and it’s not with war and better or stronger weapons. It’s your voices that have to scream it. It’s your deeds that have to do it. And I have faith that all of you are going to be on that train that brings success to humanity, and to one human being honoring and respecting another human being. Remember, that’s something you all have to fight for.”