“At times, while the students were studying the photographs, touching the artifacts and watching the videos, they were overwhelmed by sadness, tears, anger and shock when hearing about Leon’s life. And yet… They were profoundly inspired as to how Leon was able to live a life of nobility, integrity and kindness despite the indescribable hardships he had to endure. They left our classroom with a deep respect for survivors of the Shoah and survivors of all catastrophes, past and present.”
“The parts of Leon’s life that especially resonated with the students was the story of the handkerchief and Leon’s separation from his father when Leon was only 7, Leon reading his father’s brilliant essays and finally, Leon being reunited with his brother which speaks directly to the essential role family plays in all of our lives.”
“Trunks of Hope provides students with the opportunity to hear about the lives of local Holocaust survivors and to gain an authentic understanding from their experience. I commend the work that is being done that provides students with this rich experience and am so grateful my students will have an opportunity to interact with these materials later this year.”
Have you borrowed one of our Trunks of Hope? Send us your feedback to jeri@ctvoicesofhope.org!