Home > News

Recallecting Scary Pages in History…

In July, 21–24 in Brest there was IX International conference for schoolchildren “Holocaust: Memory And Warning” arranged by Russian Center and Fund “Holocaust”, PC “Republican Fund Holocaust” (Belarus), “Holocaust” Brest center (Belarus) and Ukrainian Center of Holocaust studies. The conference took place with the help of the Brest regional executive committee, Euro–Asian Jewish congress, Brest city library and hotel “Belarus”.

The conference participants were schoolchildren from Russia, Moldova, the Ukraine and Belarus. The team from the Republic of Belarus presented the following projects: “Holocaust in the History of Smilovichi–town” (Vladislav Zhigalko, 15, Smilovichi–town); “From the History of My Family” (Natalya Hazanovich, 16, Pinsk–town); “Flowers Grow Even on the Asphalt” (Evgeniya Sakel, 15, Mir–town); “Righteous People. Story of Jacob Nehenson's Survival” (Artem Tsveifel, 16, Kalinkovichi–town).

The Conference mostly ran as a discussion: each participant had a chance to put himself/herself at the place of a committee chairman. Children learned not only how to ask and answer questions, but also how to draw conclusions. Teachers took part in the Conference as well. Presentations of the participants differed in form and contents, but all of them showed that the theme of Holocaust as well as of any other genocide issues is still of great importance today and everybody should remember about the dead and respect those who survived. The presentations reconfirmed an aspiration of humankind for mutual understanding and justice.

The program of the Conference also included visit to memorable places.

Everybody was impressed by the Brest fortress and participation in the “Memory Day” memorial event. Participants also had an interesting excursion to the former Brest ghetto and Brest archives. For a long period of time children will remember a meeting with Roman Levin, a writer and a former prisoner of the Brest ghetto, an excursion to the places of Holocaust in Brest region (Zhabinka–Petrovichi– ;Bronnaya Gora). With tears in their eyes watched the participants of the Conference a movie “The Brest Ghetto”. They kept a silence minute in memory of the dead on the Bronnaya Gora and according to the Jewish tradition they put stones to the foot of a mountain.

Time flew by and a moment came to leave, exchange addresses and, of course, to make a picture. It seems to me that those guys who participated in the Conference, would be able to introduce the most scary pages in the history that must not be repeated to their peers. And all the projects and presentations prepared by schoolchildren are reminders of those innocent people who died.

We would like to assure the Republican fund “Holocaust” of our gratitude for the organization and preparation of the Belarusian team for IX International conference for schoolchildren “Holocaust: Memory and Warning”. All the team members became laureates of the II Republican Contest “Holocaust. History. Lessons on Tolerance”, dedicated to the 65^th commemoration of the deceased during destruction of Minsk ghetto. The trip took place thanks to the financial support of the Union of Belarusian Jewish Organizations and Communities and the Representation of the AJJDC in the Republic of Belarus.

Ludmila Vatslavovna Drapezo,
a teacher of a secondary school
in Smilovichi town.

14.07.2009

Printable version