Remembering the Holocaust and Rwandan Genocide

From the Millburn Township Schools

Social Studies students at Millburn High School heard testimonials from Holocaust and genocide survivors and participated in group discussions on Tuesday to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance/Genocide Awareness Day.

Marsha Kreuzman told students her story of surviving five German concentration camps, and Telesphore Kagaba., a Rwandan teacher and interpreter at the time of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, spoke to students about that time in his country, as well as the need for their generation to use the tools available to them to prevent this kind of “societal communal violence” in the future.

Another Holocaust survivor Erwin Ganz, spoke to students about his memories as a child in Nazi Germany.

This is the 14^th year that the MHS Social Studies department has presented a day of remembrance.

Social Studies teacher Sharon van Blijdesteijn and a faculty committee, along with students, coordinated this year’s program not only to raise awareness and promote remembrance but to educate students ­­­about the events surrounding the Holocaust and more recent genocides throughout the world.