As if high school juniors don’t have enough on their plates, New Rochelle High School junior Ava Dee took on an extra challenge this year, spending about four months on a Living History project sponsored by the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center of Westchester.
The intergenerational program pairs students from Westchester with the child or grandchild of a Holocaust survivor to document and share survivors’ stories. Ava was one of six Westchester high school students who embarked on the project, and was paired with Naomi Koller, who lives in northern Westchester with her father, Mark Koller, a Holocaust survivor.
“Naomi was absolutely wonderful to work with. I am very grateful for her willingness to share her family's story with me,” Ava said.
The project’s required outcome was for the high school students to give an oral presentation to the HHREC with a final project that “must be able to live in a digital space and can be as creative as the student would like.”
Ava gave her presentation to an audience of about 40 guests at the HHREC in Harrison last month, telling the story of Mr. Koller who, in 1941 at age 10, was forced from his home in Ukraine with his family and transferred to a labor camp in Romania. In an uplifting ending, the family was liberated in 1944 and able to recover jewelry that they had hidden in a piano and left with friends for safekeeping. It was enough to pay for their passage to America.
The family’s story is now documented in a children’s book that Ava wrote and illustrated. "There are hundreds of resources for adults to learn about the Holocaust, but there are far fewer ways for children to learn about it. I wanted to create a book that would introduce children to the Holocaust in a simple way that they would understand."
High school social studies teacher Francisco Sandoval introduced Ava to the idea during class earlier this year and mentored her through the project. "I am incredibly proud of Ava and all the dedication she put into this project," he said. "It is a unique idea and was really well done. By continuing to tell the story of the Holocaust through the lens of one individual, she has given us a personal perspective to a horrific historic event. She represented in the best light how hard our students work here at New Rochelle High School."
Both Ava and her mother, Ivy Dee, recognize the power of the Living History project. "The Holocaust is an important piece of history that absolutely needs to be taught and remembered, even though it is hard to hear,” Ava said. “People need to continue speaking about the Holocaust to ensure that it is never forgotten, and that something like that never happens again." Ava is working on publishing her book in the near future.
Her mother agreed. "I believe that this project was so important for Ava to be a part of because the first-generation holocaust survivors are not going to be here to tell their story much longer. Her sharing this story allows the Holocaust to never be forgotten."