Eighth graders at Evansville Day School recently completed a unit on “Man’s Inhumanity to Man.” As part of the unit, they read Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night, which shares how 14 year old Elie survives Auschwitz and the Holocaust.

During this unit, English Teacher Angela Craft helped her students understand the harsh conditions the Holocaust victims endured. For example, at the beginning of the unit, students were given tags with numbers on them, much like those in concentration camps would have received. In each class period, they wore them and were only referred to as that number, not their names. Mrs. Craft explains, “It has been my intention that by showing the inhumanity of that time period, the students will build empathy for others in similar situations in today’s society, whether that be bullying, war, or discrimination.”

As a culminating activity, the class visited the CANDLES Holocaust Museum in Terre Haute, IN. Students were able to tour the museum and study the artifacts from the time period. They also explored the new interactive exhibit, where visitors can ask questions, and a Holocaust survivor will answer.

CANDLES Holocaust Museum is run by Founding Director and Holocaust survivor Eva Mozes Kor. Eva and her twin sister were one of many sets of twins who were subject to genetic experiments by the infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele. This was particularly relevant to the eighth graders because Dr. Mengele’s experiments are discussed in the novel. Students were able to meet and listen to Eva tell her story of surviving the Holocaust. Her two hour discussion with them was divided into three parts:

Part 1: Her story of the inhumanity she experienced and her survival of it
Part 2: Forgiveness and how she has forgiven the Nazis and Dr. Mengele
Part 3: Hope for the future.

Eva spent time explaining to the students that they are our hope and encouraged them to be ambassadors for hope and acceptance. Every year, Eva Kor goes back to Auschwitz and takes students, teachers, community members with her. Mrs. Craft remarked, “This was my 11th year taking students to meet Eva Kor, and each time I go, I am touched in yet another way.”