We know how crucial highlighting local connections is to engaging students in history. In the fall of 2022, OJMCHE donated 1,000 copies of local Holocaust survivor, Miriam Greenstein’s memoir, In the Shadow of Death to educators across Oregon. Miriam was nine years old when World War II began, and after surviving the Lodz Ghetto and Auschwitz-Birkenau, was liberated from Bergen-Belsen at age fifteen. As the sole survivor of her family living in Europe, she connected with an uncle, who lived in Portland, OR and moved here in 1945.
Miriam’s memoir, and accompanying curriculum guide developed by the Oregon Writers Project, deals with questions about how history impacts our lives today and how we may heal from traumatic and unjust events from the past so that we can have more justice, equity, and fairness in the future. While students grapple with what justice means for Miriam Greenstein and for people harmed by the Holocaust, they will also be asked to think about people, including themselves, who have experienced, or are currently experiencing loss, xenophobia, racism, stereotypes, or other injustices today.
If you are an Oregon educator who is interested in being notified if we provide this opportunity in the future, please complete the interest form below.