1943 Yearbook, Hudson Falls High School
Yesterday our high school hosted an incredible Memorial Concert and Day of Remembrance in forward observance of Memorial Day and also to recall the victims of the Holocaust.
I produced the program that featured readings by our talented high school seniors and the band under the direction of Mr. Scott Larsen. Mr. Roberge again served as our masterful MC. Thanks to all students and staff who made it possible.
Thanks to Rob Miller and Fred Spiegel for traveling to be with us to share their stories and their books. You can enjoy their presentations by streaming the links below.
Fred Spiegel- Once the Acacias Bloomed/Memories of a Childhood Lost.
As quoted in the newspaper,
“Basically, we want to pay tribute to the veterans,” said Matt Rozell, a social studies teacher at the high school. “We have Memorial Day coming up, and unfortunately, sometimes Memorial Day gets overlooked, and it is a big deal. But in school, we get so wrapped up with Regents and state exams.”
Because band director Scott Larsen was already planning a concert with a Memorial Day theme, Rozell said school officials thought it would be nice to include the community in a day of remembrance.
A book fair and book signing will follow the concert in the high school lobby. Three authors of war-based non-fiction books will be present, including Holocaust survivor Fred Spiegel, author of “Once the Acacias Bloomed – Memories of a Childhood Lost.”
Spiegel is one of more than 200 holocaust survivors whom Rozell has located that were on a train that was en route to a death camp in April 1945 before a U.S. tank battalion scared off Nazi troops guarding the train.
Rozell and his Hudson Falls history classes launched a website about the liberation of the 2,000 Jews from that train near Magdeburg, Germany. The website has helped to reunite members of the tank battalion with the former Jewish captives.
Rozell will speak at a formal gathering to honor the liberators next week in Israel, which is known as the first refuge for many Holocaust survivors.
At the Israeli event, Rozell said he will speak before several dozen survivors and their families, as well as liberator Frank Towers and the U.S. ambassador to Israel. His tour will bring him to Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial.
The estimated cost of the trip is around $5,000, and Rozell said he has been trying to raise funds through his website,
https://teachinghistorymatters.wordpress.com/rozell-trip/ in order to go.
Wednesday’s concert and remembrance event at the high school will also include a luncheon in the band room for veterans and their families at 11:30 a.m., followed by presentations from Spiegel and from Rob Miller, author of “Hidden Hell,” which describes his father’s experiences as a prisoner of war in World War II.
Post Star May10, 2011
Teaching History Matters 