When you do what I do, you always hope you are making a difference. You hope that somewhere deep inside someone, you move the needle, even a little, toward good deeds and positive action. This is a story of how my work touched one person, a middle school student no more than 14 years old.
As of the date I am writing this, since November 2025 I have spoken or participated in Holocaust Awareness Programs at five middle schools and three high schools. At each event I bring a copy of my book, Jew Face: A story of love and heroism in Nazi-occupied Holland. At two of these schools I was the sole speaker, presenting to a group of students. Six of the events, all five middle schools and one high school, were Holocaust Student Awareness Days.
These programs bring together Holocaust survivors and what are known as 2Gs, or second generation, the children of Holocaust survivors, a group I am part of. The events are organized by Insight Through Education, a remarkable organization doing important work in Holocaust education. After each of us speaks briefly to the full group, we are each assigned a table of about 15 students, where we share our story or the story we represent. In my case, with the help of my book, I speak about how my parents survived the Nazi occupation of Holland, the family members who were murdered on both sides, and the extraordinary story of Bram’s Violin, which found its way back to our family 76 years after my mother’s brother Bram was murdered in Auschwitz.
I spend about an hour and a half with the students at my table. I encourage questions and discussion, and I let them know that the student who makes the greatest impact through their engagement will receive the copy of my book that I brought with me.
I never struggle to find a deserving student, but I do struggle to choose just one. At one recent event, while there were several strong candidates, one young man stood out immediately. His enthusiasm, curiosity, and level of engagement made the decision clear. For the record, he was not Jewish and had no direct connection to the Holocaust. Still, he showed genuine excitement and gratitude when he received the book.
Those feelings were confirmed the following day, when I attended a brunch organized by Insight Through Education. As I was leaving, I had the chance to speak with the teacher and head of Holocaust studies at that same middle school. She told me that the student was so excited about the book that he was carrying it with him everywhere, reading it, and already planning to lend it to her when he finished. She told me that my story had made a real impact on him.
No one can predict what the future holds, but we do know that if you can change one person, you can change the world. Every time I speak, whether to young people or adults, the goal is to reach people in a meaningful way. Many times you sense it, but on this occasion I was given something more concrete.
I was reminded that the work is landing exactly where it needs to. That it stays with people. That it continues beyond the room.
And that is why I will continue doing it.
Am Yisrael Chai
Never Again Is Now!
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