Yom Hashoah Program at YOF

For seven months, Holocaust survivors and YOF students got together to prepare for a Holocaust memorial program, which was anything but typical. When the program began, 10 Holocaust survivors were tenderly escorted to seats on the stage by their teenage partners, who proceeded to reenact stirring episodes from the survivors’ own lives, accompanied by narration from the survivors themselves. The youngsters had heard the stories during their weekly sessions.

During that time, the pairs got to know each other, built relationships, and then the survivors shared their searing memories of the years of war, trusting that the students would convey them well to a broader audience. On this evening it was to more than 800 people.

The collaboration of Yeshivah Flatbush Joel Braverman High School students and the survivors who were clients of Selfhelp Community Services, culminated in two presentations of Witness Theater, first on the eve of Yom Hashoah for the public, and then the next day for the students of the school. Helga Sternbach, 87, said, “I had to tell these horrible stories, but the purpose was to tell the honest truth.” Sternbach was deported from Czechoslovakia to Auschwitz in 1944 when she was a teenager. Her parents, sister, and grandparents did not survive.

Participants were guided through their journey together by professionals in both theater and therapy, first with theater games and conversation. Then the young “witnesses” began to hear the survivors’ stories. Their task was to listen, take notes, and then tell back the experience. From these encounters, a script was developed. The culminating performances in YOF’s newly renovated Khezrie Auditorium also included instrumental and choral segments in Hebrew and Yiddish, directed by music faculty member Brian Gelfand.

Co-director Sally Shatzkes explained how this is a unique form of Holocaust education. “Unlike reading a book or hearing a lecture, or seeing a film, in the Witness Theater program the students portray people they have gotten to know over the course of many months. This involves not only witnessing the stories but also internalizing the personalities and idiosyncrasies of the adults.

The journey has been transformational for all involved. We began as a group of strangers and we have emerged a family of human beings eternally committed to each other in so many ways.”

YOF senior Tamar Grazi, who didn’t hesitate for a second to sign up, said “I knew there would never be another opportunity like this because the Holocaust only gets further in the past and the survivors are getting older. I had some family in the Holocaustbut it felt remote. Witness Theater helped me make a more personal and stronger connection.”

Jeanne Franco had a heightened awareness of the Shoah as she performed. “Before, when a survivor visited a classroom, I felt like I was hearing stories from a distance and couldn’t relate,” she said. “When I act out the stories now, I feel like I experience and understand more.”

The survivors included Alan Fisher, Civia Gelber, Pesia Jezierski, Sonia Klein, Nissan Krakinowski, Yuri Prizov, Helga Sternbach,Ruth Usherenko, Sarah Weingarten and Sylvia Weiss.

Students who participated included Ariel Aiash, Jeanne Franco, Tamar Grazi, Sharon Grossman, Liba Hornstein, Shterny Isseroff,Rachel Levit, Mikey Lorch, Millie Marcus, Adiel Melamed, Ikey Nissenbaum, Shelly Reizin, Alex Schneider, and Allison Tawil.

Not only did the students understand more about the Holocaust, they were inspired by the elders, who they came to care for. They learned about individuals who had accomplished lives and built beautiful families despite having suffered unbearable hardships. The relationships among the students and the survivors was heartwarming to the entire audience, and if a booklet fell to the floor, or a line was stumbled over, a subtle retrieval, an encouraging whisper or a hug was quick to follow.

The goal is to never forget, to overcome hate and denial. Witness Theater bridged the gap of time and built a strong foundation for that goal to be met.

The project was coordinated by Sally Shatzkes, a drama therapist, Marius Zilberstein, Selfhelp Community Services Administrative Director Adeena Horowitz and Selfhelp Social Worker Lana Onypchuk.