MICDS seventh graders recently visited the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum as part of their history unit on Power & Equality. The museum’s exhibits and programs, along with personal accounts from survivors, help deepen visitors’ understanding of the Holocaust, and its mission is to utilize the history and lessons of the Holocaust to inspire change.
In the unit, students have been working to understand the essential question: What are human rights, and where and how have they been preserved and abused? Before the field trip, the classes dove into a mini case study on the Holocaust, approaching it from a slightly different lens, focusing on how something like the Holocaust could happen, with a particular emphasis on the use of propaganda. Middle School History Teacher Berta Simic said, “The museum does a great job of highlighting this in its exhibit, and students took it a step further by exploring its lasting effects.”
Another question that students examined was: What conditions allow ordinary people to support or tolerate atrocities? Simic said, “Many students were shocked to learn that there were over 40,000 concentration camps throughout Europe. During our visit debrief with Zach Turner, the Manager of Visitor Services, Bryce Craig ’30 shared that this statistic stood out to him because it showed the extent of people’s commitment to carrying out these atrocities. The personal stories and local artifacts connected to St. Louis made the history feel even more real.”
Many students found the visit impactful and relevant to what they’ve learned in class:
“I thought this field trip gave me a new perspective on how different people experienced the Holocaust. It was very surprising that so many people from St. Louis survived the Holocaust.” – Alyssa Luoma ’30
“There was a relative of two Holocaust survivors who had both gone to some of the worst concentration camps. On the tour of the museum, we saw all sorts of artifacts from some of the concentration camps. After we got back from the museum, we watched a documentary about someone named Sonia who had gone to three separate concentration and work camps.” – Jules Xavier Poucel ’30
“What I found most impactful about the Holocaust museum is learning about the ghettos and the concentration camps that they used to send Jewish people to, and that half of them would be killed and the other half would be put to work doing horrible jobs.” – Savannah Harris ’30
“One thing that I found very impactful was not just hearing how people made it through the war through family members of Holocaust survivors, but hearing what they were like after the war and the impact the Holocaust left on them.” – Connor Berkes ’30
“At the museum, we were fortunate to participate in a tour led by a descendant of a Holocaust survivor,” said Middle School History Teacher Blake Whitney. “During the tour, students were able to connect with themes we studied in class, such as the power of propaganda. Afterward, we listened to a guest speaker whose parents survived the Holocaust. She shared their story of struggle and the journey that eventually led them to settle in St. Louis. Throughout the day, our students represented MICDS with excellence and pride.”
The invaluable exhibits, programs, and survivor testimonies offered by the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum have profoundly enriched the learning experience for our students and educators, allowing them to connect directly with lived history.