In recognition of the importance of Holocaust survivors’ testimonies, the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education (MCHE) is hosting a series titled “I Witness: Conversations with Survivors” throughout its 30th year.
Starting this past April, a different Holocaust survivor has taken part in a conversation with MCHE Executive Director and CEO Jessica Rockhold about their story, starting from their life before, during and after the Holocaust. Each survivor also reflects on the war and their perspective of the world today. Each session has been held in the social hall at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City.
“Ensuring that we are telling those stories for as long as we possibly can is one of the reasons that this is important,” Rockhold said.
Rockhold wants the audience to see each survivor as a full, complex person, not just one defining detail about them. Survivors, such as July’s speaker, Peter Newman, share their encompassing life stories.
Newman was born in 1938 in Vienna, Austria. As a young child, he and his family moved to Yugoslavia until being forced to flee to Italy. There, they were imprisoned in a concentration camp for more than two years before Allied troops liberated the camp.
Newman’s family and others in the camp were allowed to come to the United States as “guests” of the government until the end of the war. On July 26, 1944, Newman’s sixth birthday, he passed the Statue of Liberty. He said that arriving in the U.S. was one of the best days of his life.
Other “I Witness” conversations featured survivors Adela Dagerman, Tom and Alice Lewinsohn, and Steve Sherry.
Rockhold views the series of conversations as a bit of a full-circle moment for MCHE.
“When we think about our work at MCHE and the projects that we've undertaken and the things that we're most proud of, we always come back to having preserved survivor testimony,” Rockhold said. “[It was] the first project that was undertaken in our history, and it has really served as the foundation of how we teach.”
One of the main objectives of “I Witness” is to highlight stories from a unique perspective that have not been heard. One specific piece Rockhold tries to tie into every conversation is how the survivors view the world today. Throughout each presentation, a slideshow is shown including pictures and documents of the survivor.
“This year, one of the things that I think is particularly unique is that even though this is a program that we've had in the past,” Rockhold said, “predominantly, the speakers that are speaking this year in 2023 are people who have either never spoken publicly before or have done so very limitedly.”
Rockhold said that one of the most important aspects of “I Witness” is getting to hear a survivor’s story live and for the audience to care deeply about each survivor's testimony. Audiences have averaged around 70 people, and Rockhold and Dr. Shelly Cline, MCHE historian and director of education, are able to talk with audience members afterward.
Sharing survivor testimonies has long been part of MCHE’s regularly programmed events. However, as survivors are aging, MCHE has added a focus on children of survivors to its programming. Many of the testimonies heard today are from survivors who were children at the time of the Holocaust.
“I hope people understand that this is an experience that cannot be had in any other way — you can learn these histories, but you will not have the same experience as if you come and sit in the room,” Rockhold said. “It becomes something so deeply personal and meaningful when you have met a survivor, and that is something that people that come to this series will take away with them.”
The four remaining “I Witness” sessions will take place on Aug. 22, Sept. 12, Oct. 3 and Nov. 7. More information about the series can be found at mchekc.org. These events are free, but registration is required.