Voices of Hope and The HERO Center’s Trunks of Hope will continue to be expanded as we acquire new material and testimonies of our survivors of the Holocaust and genocide. Below, learn more about our available trunks and their contents. You can request a trunk here.
Each trunk contains a teacher’s guide, lesson plan, a booklet of photos and documents, and objects to help tell each survivor’s story. QR codes link to video testimony so students can learn directly from the survivor about their experience.
Stay tuned to this page as we add more trunks for your students to explore…
Leon Chameides
Leon Chameides was born in Kattowice, Poland. His trunk tells the story of his family, and how he survived in hiding with the help of the Uniate Church in western Ukraine.
Students will learn about the risks of rescue and the experience of being in hiding, as well as Leon’s accomplishments and contributions to the world after the war.
Leon’s trunk contains the materials noted above, as well as an educator copy of Leon’s book Strangers in Many Lands: The Story of a Jewish Family in Turbulent Times.
Ruth “Tutti” Fishman
Tutti Fishman’s story begins in Cologne, Germany, until she and her family move to Amsterdam, Holland when she is a small child. Students will learn about her family members, and the changes which took place as World War II progressed.
Tutti is a survivor of the deportations to Eastern Europe and Terezin concentration camp. Students will be introduced to her very special doll, and the passport that saved her family.
Tutti’s trunk contains the materials noted above, as well as 30 copies of Tutti’s Promise by K. Heidi Fishman, Tutti’s daughter.
Rabbi Philip and Ruth Lazowksi
This trunk is unique in that it tells the story of two survivors, Rabbi Philip Lazowski and Ruth (Rabinowitz) Lazowski. Students will see the immediate changes to life in the villages of Poland with the Nazi invasion, how Rabbi and Ruth met as children, and how they survived, separately, in the woods for two years before being liberated by the Red Army.
The Lazowski trunk includes the materials noted above, 30 copies of Rabbi’s book Faith and Destiny, and one educator copy of Into the Forest by Rebecca Frankel, the survival story of the Rabinowitz family.
Abraham “Abby” Weiner
Abby was born in Sighet, Romania, in 1929. In 1944, Abby and his parents were forced onto the last transport to Auschwitz, the same transport as Elie Wiesel. Abby endured a year of dehumanization and terror until he was liberated at Buchenwald in April of 1945.
Abby’s trunk is focused on the themes of survival and Tikkum Olam, or repairing the world. This trunk is aimed at high school students ready to engage in discussions on human nature and finding the good.
Abby’s trunk includes a comprehensive teaching guide, supplementary slide decks, and 30 copies of Elie Wiesel’s Night.