Sixth-grade students chronicle survivors' pasts during Holocaust Remembrance Day

More than 70 years ago, the Polish capital of Warsaw was at war. The last Jewish captives of a massive ghetto took arms against Nazi occupiers in a final stand against tyranny.

Now, Jewish men, women and children around the globe share a day in remembrance of the ghetto uprising and the millions of people slain by the Third Reich.

“We gather for a sacred and solemn day, on a day when the dark clouds and the rain outside seem to fit our emotions and our thoughts,” said Rabbi Adam Miller, of Temple Shalom. “We gather for Yom Hashoah — a day for Holocaust remembrance.”

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On Sunday, Temple Shalom in Golden Gate Estates hosted a yearly event in partnership with several Jewish congregations and organizations in the area.

“It is a day we do not distinguish where we are from but rather focus on our shared history of pain, the lessons that have been learned and the power of those that stand up and do right,” Miller said.

Scores of people filled the benches to view the program, led by local rabbis and a group of sixth-grade students.

“A lot of people like to get kids involved (in programs), but it’s great if it’s actually meaningful,” said Anna Salomon, director of congregational education at Temple Shalom. “I thought about them getting to know survivors. We’re at a unique crossing road in history where we can still talk to survivors face to face. I wanted the kids to have that experience.”

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Students spent time talking to five local Holocaust survivors to learn their stories and share them with the congregation. After each presentation, they lit a candle in memory of those who did not survive.

“Everyone has a different story,” said Max Goldberg, who interviewed survivor Marcel Fachler. “Some people, their story is being in the concentration camp. (Marcel’s) is more the effect of what happens — the effect of anti-Semitism.”

Fachler was 18 months old when World War II began and was immediately put in hiding. As he grew older, Fachler became more and more separated from Judaism.

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“I never considered myself Jewish from early times,” he said. “It was only after I came to Naples two years ago, when I saw the sign for the (Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida), and they persuaded me to tell my story. Now, that’s what I do.”

Max, along with Nathan and Jacob Samuel, worked with Fachler to get his story. Salomon said her students took the project to heart.

“This is living history,” she said. “It was a great experience to ask these questions and get genuine answers. Now they own the stories. They feel it’s theirs now, and it’s something they will never forget.”

Max excitedly shared his own thoughts on the project.

“Everyone that survived the Holocaust is dying,” he said. “We are one of the last people to talk with survivors. It’s the type of wisdom not many other people have.”

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The importance of keeping the stories and history of people cannot be overstated, Miller explained.

“You participated in our sacred task of zahor, to remember what has taken place, to never forget the stories of those who were there, and shamor, to protect their legacy by continuing to share their stories,” he said.