Mr. Werner Reich, a Holocaust survivor, visited Sachem East last week to discuss his experiences living in Europe under the Nazi regime. He spoke to 500 students in the auditorium. His message was about being just and doing the right thing even when it is not the popular or easy decision.
To do that, he offers the acronym JUST: for Judge the situation; Understand the problem; Solve it; and Take action; the reason is that indifference kills.
His impressive 270-slide PowerPoint presentation took the students through the rise of the Nazis, how it led his family to flee Germany in search of safety, and eventually led to his capture in Yugoslavia, from which he was transported to Thereseinstadt concentration camp and then Auschwitz. From age 14 to 17, Mr. Reich was a prisoner of the Nazis.
He came face-to-face with death on a daily basis and even had frequent encounters with Dr. Josef Mengele, the infamous SS Officer and physician who performed countless inhumane experiments on prisoners. While Mr. Reich was not experimented on, he was forced to run back and forth in front of Dr. Mengele and other Nazis, at which point those who did not look energetic enough were shot on site or removed for experimentation.
When asked if he is still angry, Mr. Reich replied that he is more upset with the “good people who did nothing,” than the Nazis who he described as “sick people.” Mr. Reich said never debate someone who denies the Holocaust happened.
“You cannot debate two-plus-two equals four,” he said. “Truth doesn’t need a defense.”
Mr. Reich helped students to understand the tragic events of the Holocaust by relating it to their lives and more current events. He likened the actions of the Nazis to the 38 people who did nothing but admitted to hearing the cries of Kitty Genovese as she was killed at 3 a.m. in Kew Gardens, Queens, the hate-crime against and murder of Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue, N.Y. and the recent school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
Everyone who attended the assembly spoke of its powerful message and how it brought history alive. Mr. Jannace’s and Mr. Varajao’s history classes experienced an even more comprehensive day, as they took part in an all-day event devoted to understanding and protecting human rights.
The students were taking part in lessons and activities about human rights throughout history. These lessons were created and taught by members of the National History Club & History Honor Society. They created activities and fueled discussions of the Holocaust, Ukrainian genocide, Cambodian killing fields, Japanese internment, treatment of Muslims post-9/11, and stereotyping and bullying.
Then, other classes from Sachem East joined to hear Mr. Reich’s presentation. The students who debriefed the day’s events sought to understand the importance of studying such events. The History Honor Society students created and facilitated the various lesson activities while Mr. Jannace supervised.
Their lessons were excellent, as it helped the students to assign responsibility to different groups involved in these violations and discuss ways to prevent such inhumanity in hopes of making sure the good people always do something.
Ishrak Alam, Maha Ashraf, Matthew Baccoli, Samantha Botros, Daniel Corbett, Jonathan Davidashvilly, Ryan Fazziola, Nick Gao, Abigail Groffmann, Amanda Gurriera, Anmol Gupta, Jeremy Kline, Jonathan Kline, Krysta La Bruna, Brandon La Porta, Rachel Llanes, Christiana Lojo, Valerie Luutran, Hifza Malik, Corley Miller, Andrew Nagler, Austin Portente, Justin Portente, Kyle Ritchie, Alexandra Russo, Matthew Salerno, Shannon Simmons, Gabrielle Singer, Amanda Sluzewski, Jin-Mi Sohn, Young Jin Sohn, Brandon Thorne, Francis Vargas and Megan Zhang worked diligently for months after school and at home to master the content and devise ways to present the material to students in a meaningful way.
Their moving and powerful presentations about survival were truly inspiring and especially relevant as they connected it to current issues of justice and bullying. Their community service is proof that student leaders exist at Sachem East.
RELATED: PHOTOS: See more images from the assembly at Sachem East