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Archive for September, 2009

Holocaust Survivors, Liberators Reunited – ABC News : Person of the Week: Teacher takes students on a journey of humanity.

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 26, 2009| 23 Comments »

I’m a teacher.

This blog is about the Power of Teaching.

If you decide to spend a few moments here, you will see what I mean…

Start by studying the photograph below.

I mean, click on it to enlarge, really look at it.

Study the faces.

Imagine being the man behind the lens…

Matthew Rozell

Enter a caption

You may be here to find out more about the photograph that shows the moment of liberation. Watch the ABC News clip below about how I was first shown it by US Army veterans of World War II, the story they told me, and what I did afterwards, and the consequences of those actions.

[My new book on this will be out this July. You can put in a pre-order notice, above- GET THE BOOK HERE]

It is nothing short of a miracle.

Then again, in the words of one survivor, there are no coincidences.

Feel free to contact me or re-post this website.

Sign up for amazing updates on the upper right.

Do you know that nearly 250 survivors of this train transport have now had contact with their actual American liberators? It’s true. There are 10 other photos of the liberation that day on this site, and many folks have been identified.

Feel free to explore. Thanks for stopping by.

Matt

During our second Holocaust survivor/American soldier reunion, we reached out to a student audience of 1500 kids over three days. Just before the final farewell  banquet  the ABC piece below aired, and the soldiers, survivors, teachers and students watched it together in a restaurant lounge.

Not a dry eye!

Matthew Rozell

Official ABC site and video

THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTOGRAPH

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Video of Holocaust Liberators-Survivors conference at Hudson Falls High School, Sept. 2009.

Posted in Uncategorized on September 25, 2009| 2 Comments »

Banner SSR Reunion

Conference Program 3
Apparently the video no longer streams. You can see highlights below if you wish. Program notes from 2009 reunion follow.

Finally the ABC News clip and my comments following it at the close of the ceremonies. The students become the new witnesses.

Program Notes: Soldiers/Survivors Reunion
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
MORNING PROGRAM 9:30am-10:59am
9:30 am- Block II at Hudson Falls High School Auditorium
THEME: THE LIBERATORS AND SURVIVORS OF A “TRAIN NEAR
MAGDEBURG”
9:45am- Program begins-
Welcome by CJ Hebert, High School Principal
 Introduction by Mr. Rene Roberge, Hudson Falls High School
 National Anthem
 The Story of the Liberation of the “Train Near Magdeburg”- Mr. Matthew Rozell,
Hudson Falls High School
 Film, A Special Reunion
10:25am: Introduction of Liberator Tank Commander Carrol Walsh and Survivor
Steven Barry
10:35am-10:59am: Introduction of remaining American soldiers, surviving members
of the 30th Infantry Division and 743rd Tank Battalion, and Holocaust survivors
10:59 am– End of Morning Program

AFTERNOON PROGRAM- 1:00pm-2:20pm
Block IV- High School Auditorium

THEME: LIBERATION

Statement from David Patterson, Governor,
New York State– Mr. Rene Roberge

1:05pm Tribute to Liberator/Photographer George C. Gross, 743rd Tank
Battalion
Speaker: Dr. Tim Gross, son of George C. Gross

Speaker: Liberator, Tank Commander Carrol Walsh, 743rd Tank Battalion Liberator;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Speaker: First Lieutenant Frank Towers, 30th Infantry Division

Speaker: Survivor Steven Barry (Hungary; Boca Raton, Fla.)

Program Notes: Soldiers/Survivors Reunion
Thursday, September 24th, 2009
MORNING PROGRAM 9:30am-10:59am
9:30 am- Block II at Hudson Falls High School Auditorium
THEME: SURVIVAL AND LIBERATION
9:40 am- Introduction-Program begins-
National Anthem
A Letter to the Chaplain: A Liberator’s 1945 Eyewitness Account of the Farsleben
Train-Mr. Rene Roberge, Hudson Falls High School
Speaker: Survivor and artist Sara Atzmon (Hungary; Israel)
Speaker: Survivor Elisabeth Seaman (Netherlands; Palo Alto, California)
AFTERNOON PROGRAM- 1:00pm-2:20pm

Block IV- High School Auditorium
THEME: HOLOCAUST EDUCATION; LIBERATION
1:05 pm:- The Mission of the Bergen Belsen Memorial- Bergen Belsen staff
The Mission of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum-
Peter Fredlake, Director, National Outreach for Teacher Initiatives,
USHMM

Speaker: Survivor Ariela Rojek (Poland; Toronto, Canada)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Speaker: Survivor Leslie Meisels (Hungary; Toronto, Canada)
Program Notes: Soldiers/Survivors Reunion
Friday September 25th, 2009
MORNING PROGRAM 9:30am-10:59am
9:30 am- Block II at Hudson Falls High School Auditorium
THEME: REMEMBERING THE SOLDIERS OF WORLD WAR II
9:40 am- Introduction-Program begins-
National Anthem
Statement from Congressman Scott Murphy, Representative, 20th District,
New York– Mr. Rene Roberge
The Importance of Narrative History, The NYS Veterans’ Oral History Project
– Mr. Matthew Rozell
10:00 am – Speakers:
Officers of 30th Infantry Division Veterans of WWII
Speaker:Francis Currey, Recipient, Medal of Honor
Vice President, 30th Infantry Division Veterans of WWII
Speaker:Frank Towers, Recipient, French Legion of Honor
President and Historian, 30th Infantry Division Veterans of WWII
Speaker:Buster Simmons, Chaplain, 30th Infantry Division Veterans of WWII

Speaker: William Gast, 743rd Tank Battalion

Speaker: Survivor Micha Tomkiewicz (Poland; Brooklyn, New York)

Speaker:Survivor Paul Arato (Hungary; Toronto, Canada)

Speaker:Robert Miller, author, Finding My Father’s War (son of 30th ID
member) “Finding My Father’s War”
Speaker:Lev Raphael: author My Germany (son of train survivor) “The
Second Generation, children of Holocaust Survivors- Revisiting
Germany”
Performance: “This is for Remembrance”- original song performed by student Kylie James

Speaker: Mr. Matthew Rozell, “Who Actually Believes the Garbage?”

Concluding Remarks: Mr. C.J. Hebert, High School Principal.

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