history

Experiences of Polish Antisemitism in the Holocaust and Polish Reflections about the Holocaust Today

           

(The funeral for the victims of the Kiecle Pogrom, Poland 1946)

                  Throughout my internship at the Holocaust Education Center, I have seen survival testimonials across Europe. One of the most common countries where people came from was Poland. Poland lost more of its Jewish population than any other country in Europe as 90% of the country’s Jewish population was killed. Through analyzing the testimonies I came upon the realization that while Poland was a victim of the German invasion of the Nazis, many Poles were not opposed to antisemitic beliefs of the Nazis. There are large instances of how antisemiticism persisted directly after the Holocaust such as the Kielce Pogrom of July 4, 1946, but I also saw Polish antisemitism in the survivor testimonials I viewed such as Sam Krongold, Chana Konopiski and Roman Zieglar.

By Matthew Halsall

Saddening Aspects of Holocaust Survivor Testimonies and Three Ways I Cope with Emotional Testimonies

The sole question I was asked at my PechaKucha presentation about was about how I cope in watching painful and emotional testimonies of survivors. After further consideration,  I felt I could expound upon my answer about what specifically makes these testimonies sad and how I cope with this sadness.  

Creating Oral History Excerpts and Making a Knish. They have more similarities than one would believe.

As a student one has to learn how to make meals. There are many similarities between making the Jewish dish Knish, and constructing Oral History Excerpts at the Sarah and Chaim Neuberg Holocaust Education Center where my history internship is occurring.  

(Knish, courtesy Barbara Rolek 2017)

 

A Realization of Typhus in the Holocaust. The Challenges faced by Victims of the Disease and Three Tales of Survival.

For my internship at the Ekstien library, I have been responsible for compressing oral histories for the microsite “In their own Words”. When analyzing the oral testimonies, I have focused on camp conditions and the survival strategies of the prisoners. While many remember the Holocaust for the deadly and sadistic methods the Nazis used in murdering, I was surprised at the deadly impact that disease had on the inmates. For many survivors, one difficult challenge in the camps was surviving typhoid fever and survivors developed strategies to overcome the various challenges associated with having the disease. The internship has helped me appreciate the high sanitation standards that I have grown up with.
By: Matthew Halsall 
Posted: October 30th, 2018 
 

3 Important Steps You Should Consider When Teaching a Difficult History


How do you acknowledge the human experience of genocide through a small collection of objects and photos without reducing their stories to statistics and dates? These simple but effective steps can help create a safe space for everyone to engage with loaded objects and photos in a way that reveals the multiplicity of perspectives and histories connected to each and every item.

Written by: Shawna Quigley
Date Posted: October 15, 2018

How to be a History Intern Part 1: A Growing List on How to Act the Part From Someone Who is Still Learning

by Lea Alilovic, posted 19 October 2015
Welcome to your first day at your history internship! After tirelessly applying to multiple historical organizations, one has finally picked you and now it’s your time to shine and get some real life experience. As a someone that knows the struggle all too well, I have compiled a list of necessary things to keep in mind in order to dress, look, and play the part of a history intern. 

Welcome to your first day at your history internship! After tirelessly applying to multiple historical organizations, one has finally picked you and now it’s your time to shine and get some real life experience. As a someone that knows the struggle all too well, I have compiled a list of necessary things to keep in mind in order to dress, look, and play the part of a history intern. 

1. Befriend Coffee as if You Were a Gilmore Girl
This is probably your first 9-5 experience, and waking up at 6 a.m. to get to your workplace after staying up until 2 am the night before to finish a paper is, probably no walk in the park. Coffee will be essential in transforming you into a normal, friendly, and hardworking person despite the 4 hours of sleep you had the night before. Plus, buying coffee for your new supervisor and colleagues in the office can be a great opportunity to get to know others and allow others to get to know you.

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