Names, Not Numbers© (NNN) has been a very important and meaningful program for students in many schools and certainly it has been the case here at Bnos Malka Academy. What starts out as just a “cool” thing to do (learning how to use professional cameras, lighting, microphones, and editing software), slowly evolves into a much more significant and, at times life-altering, undertaking. In the past week, the eighth grade students at BMA have interviewed Holocaust survivors and begun filming this year’s documentary.
As the girls learn proper interviewing techniques and apply them to the guests, they slowly begin to sense the importance of the stories they hear. Each survivor’s story is a unique one. The girls are charged with the task of documenting this person’s life, before, during, and after the Holocaust. What the girls may not fully appreciate at their young age is that they are among the last to have this incredible opportunity. With each passing year, we lose more direct testimony and soon it will be the story from the second generation.
The war in Gaza and the surging anti-Semitism worldwide have made NNN even more profound. A question comparing the current events of today with those during World War II would never have been asked in the past. Today, though, they have become more relevant.
Names, Not Numbers©: an interactive, multi-media Holocaust project created by educator Tova Fish-Rosenberg. For all students, the interviews were meaningful and impactful, creating connections with the past generation and recording their history. The Names, Not Numbers© Program is generously supported by a prominent national foundation.
