Students present Holocaust exhibit

SANTA ROSA - High school students in Santa Rosa have completed a schoolwide project presentation after spending just over nine weeks last semester learning about World War II in class and reading Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel's memoir, "Night."

The memorial exhibit was available for families and students to view during a recent open house.

According to history teacher Monica La Palma, the close reading of Wiesel's book, which has been translated into 30 languages, gave students a meaningful account of the suffering experienced by millions of Jewish people during the Holocaust. Parts of the book were read aloud in English and Spanish.

Studying history as part of the project also helped to connect students to the perspective of Americans in World War II.

"Learning starts with relevance," said English Language Arts teacher Kenny Flores, who uses a teaching approach that promotes evidence-based learning and social/emotional learning for students.

"Teaching tolerance in education has always been a passion of mine. It helps reduce racial bias and it is critical in providing students with the opportunity to explore the negative impact that oppression has on homogenous and heterogenous groups of people. This project encouraged students to think beyond themselves by intricately studying antisemitism through the lens and guidance of a memoir by someone who experienced it firsthand."

"There are still some people who deny what happened in the past," said Jose Gomez, who also teaches English Language arts and worked with students on the project.

Gomez said it was intended to help create awareness that discrimination and exclusion are still occurring today. His students were asked to imagine ways to address these problems and offer solutions on a local scale.

Flores emphasized that the project deepened student understanding of contemporary issues and inspired students to consider the ways history repeats itself, despite the existence of firsthand accounts detailing suffering and negative consequences for cultures around the world.

One poster displayed as part of the exhibit explains that Jewish people were required to wear a yellow star emblem during the years of the Nazi occupation of Europe from 1941 through 1945. Another depicts images of children who were recruited to the League of German Girls and Hitler Youth by the Nazi Party.

The concentration camp where Anne Frank was sent to her death was pictured on another.

High school librarian Jessica Carranza helped students design and print the posters.

"I had seen the individual pieces, but not all together. It's just really powerful when you walk in and see the whole installation," she said.

"This is the first time we've done a project of this scope that I can remember," said Santa Rosa High School Principal Mario Trujlllo. "I'm extremely impressed with what they've done here."

Trujlllo said elementary and middle school teachers have also expressed an interest in visiting the exhibit and a second phase is being planned with additional material. Eleazar LaPalma, Shantana Valdez, and other educators contributed to the success of the project.

"It was a joint effort," said LaPalma. "It wasn't an easy project, but I think we shouldn't forget."