Teaching History Matters

480 articles
February 24, 2011

"So, go to it. The world needs saving."

I had lunch today with this lovely lady and her companion. Helen Sperling, 90, nursing a broken hip, traveled 4...

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February 18, 2011

2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient - Gerda Weissmann Klein

2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient - Gerda Weissmann Klein "Gerda Weissmann Klein is a Jewish Holocaust survivor. When Klein...

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~George C. Gross, 1922-2009~
February 1, 2011

~George C. Gross, 1922-2009~

I am re-posting this today on the anniversary of Dr. Gross' death. Yesterday my son turned 11. And at about...

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Legacy of freedom.
October 27, 2010

Legacy of freedom.

My college alma mater recently released their Fall 2010 edition of the alumni magazine. We were the cover story. It...

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2 DVD Set.
October 24, 2010

2 DVD Set.

In 2001, as part of a class project collecting the testimony of World War II veterans, Mr. Matthew Rozell, a...

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"What are we going to do with all these people?"
October 14, 2010

"What are we going to do with all these people?"

Just returned from a three day conference. As Holocaust educators, we talk about the choices that individuals face and the...

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~Mid April 1945: "The degree of shock, surprise, questioning on their faces-Where did these people come from? How did this happen?"
October 11, 2010

~Mid April 1945: "The degree of shock, surprise, questioning on their faces-Where did these people come from? How did this happen?"

{As part of the conclusion to my USHMM Teacher Fellowship project, I  am posting the unfolding nature of the discovery of the...

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It makes me happy...
September 10, 2010

It makes me happy...

[caption id="attachment_840" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="US Army tank commander and liberator Carrol Walsh is reunited with the Holocaust survivors he helped...

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August 13, 2010

Holocaust survivor meets Army rescuer after 65 years

Holocaust survivor meets Army rescuer after 65 years Michael Woyton • Poughkeepsie Journal • August 12, 2010 Mrs. Falik heard...

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Stories of Freedom: An Evening at CitiField
July 28, 2010

Stories of Freedom: An Evening at CitiField

I was the featured speaker at this event hosted by the NYC Next Generation Board held on July 28th, 2010...

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Independence Day, 2010-We celebrate the birth of a nation and what it means to be free. A girl describes her deliverance at the hands of the Americans; a soldier writes home.
July 4, 2010

Independence Day, 2010-We celebrate the birth of a nation and what it means to be free. A girl describes her deliverance at the hands of the Americans; a soldier writes home.

"Never have I met such devoted human kindness. Their humanity led us back to our rightful life as human beings...

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You are really doing a holy work and I do hope to meet you some day.
June 26, 2010

You are really doing a holy work and I do hope to meet you some day.

So this orphaned little girl who was liberated on the train came to visit me in the USA, all the...

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June 19, 2010

I am very happy to have been a small part in their liberation in April of 1945 and now we have come full circle and we have met again.

And I am very happy to have been a small part in their liberation in April of 1945 and now...

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June 9, 2010

In Valor, There is Hope.

I posted this a year ago. I am re-posting today. To all of my friends at the Museum, and to...

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Let's Go... ("I could teach World War II in 15 minutes if I was just going to teach to the test," Mr. Rozell said. "One multiple choice question, and zip -- they're off to college.")
June 6, 2010

Let's Go... ("I could teach World War II in 15 minutes if I was just going to teach to the test," Mr. Rozell said. "One multiple choice question, and zip -- they're off to college.")

"I could teach World War II [including the Holocaust]  in 15 minutes if I was just going to teach to...

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June 2, 2010

An isolated event that occurred in the closing days of that war came to light after being buried for years in the musty vaults of history...

Liberator Carrol Walsh... Walsh recalls his good friend George C. Gross, with whom he came across the Train Near Magdeburg...

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REMEMBER.
May 25, 2010

REMEMBER.

Scene #1: The morning of December 16, 1944. A lonely outpost on the Belgian frontier. In subzero temperatures, the last...

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Doing my job, too...
May 15, 2010

Doing my job, too...

click to enlarge.

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The American soldiers did not understand what was going on. The explanation was waiting for them within the wagons that were waiting there silently.
May 9, 2010

The American soldiers did not understand what was going on. The explanation was waiting for them within the wagons that were waiting there silently.

A Train Of Life / Eldad Beck, Berlin This story ran in the major Israeli daily "Yediot Aharonot"on Holocaust Remembrance...

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April 26, 2010

As World War II came to a close in 1945, a small American tank battalion discovered a train full of Jewish prisoners abandoned in the German countryside.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla./HUDSON FALLS, N.Y. -- As World War II came to a close in 1945, a small American tank battalion discovered...

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April 26, 2010

2010~The Year of the Liberator~Mid April 1945: First American reports to folks back home.

{As part of the conclusion to my USHMM Teacher Fellowship project, I  am posting the unfolding nature of the discovery of the...

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World War II Soldiers Who Liberated Nazi Death Camps Meet at Holocaust Museum 4-16-10
April 16, 2010

World War II Soldiers Who Liberated Nazi Death Camps Meet at Holocaust Museum 4-16-10

World War II Soldiers Who Liberated Nazi Death Camps Meet at Holocaust Museum Jerome Socolovsky | Washington16 April 2010 [caption...

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What they did mattered then, and what we do matters now. April 15, 2010.
April 15, 2010

What they did mattered then, and what we do matters now. April 15, 2010.

This morning, a live broadcast from the Rotunda where we honor the sacrifice of soldiers who, 65 years ago, liberated...

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2010~The Year of the Liberator~ April 13 1945: A Train Near Magdeburg
April 12, 2010

2010~The Year of the Liberator~ April 13 1945: A Train Near Magdeburg

It is April 13th, the 65th anniversary of the liberation. In the past two days I have heard from a...

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2010~The Year of the Liberator~Early April 1945:American troops inspect the site of the Gardelegen atrocity.
April 12, 2010

2010~The Year of the Liberator~Early April 1945:American troops inspect the site of the Gardelegen atrocity.

{As part of the conclusion to my USHMM Teacher Fellowship project, I  am posting the unfolding nature of the discovery of the...

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Remembering Lidia and Jan Kazimierski. April 7th. The train left Belsen yesterday, with at least one orphaned child. 1945.
April 7, 2010

Remembering Lidia and Jan Kazimierski. April 7th. The train left Belsen yesterday, with at least one orphaned child. 1945.

[caption id="attachment_638" align="alignleft" width="185"] Hilde Huppert’s Hand in Hand with Tommy is one of the earliest factual accounts of the...

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2010~The Year of the Liberator~Early April 1945:"We are told the American soldier does not know what he is fighting for."
April 5, 2010

2010~The Year of the Liberator~Early April 1945:"We are told the American soldier does not know what he is fighting for."

{As part of the conclusion to my USHMM Teacher Fellowship project, I  am posting the unfolding nature of the discovery of the...

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Days of Remembrance: Honoring Liberation/A New Film on the Project.
April 3, 2010

Days of Remembrance: Honoring Liberation/A New Film on the Project.

Days of Remembrance: Honoring Liberation In commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, the Museum...

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2010~The Year of the Liberator~Early April 1945: The SS evacuates thousands of Jews*.
April 2, 2010

2010~The Year of the Liberator~Early April 1945: The SS evacuates thousands of Jews*.

{*As part of the conclusion to my USHMM Teacher Fellowship project, I  am posting the unfolding nature of the discovery of the...

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2010~The Year of the Liberator~March 31, 1945-U.S. Troops Investigate Hadamar euthanasia center.
March 31, 2010

2010~The Year of the Liberator~March 31, 1945-U.S. Troops Investigate Hadamar euthanasia center.

{As part of the conclusion to my USHMM Teacher Fellowship project, I  am posting the unfolding nature of the discovery of the...

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March 18, 2010

2010~The Year of the Liberator~March 19, 1945-The Death March and the Defining Moment.

{As part of the conclusion to my USHMM Teacher Fellowship project, I  am posting the unfolding nature of the discovery of the...

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Holocaust survivors reunite with liberator nearly 65 years after they were freed
March 5, 2010

Holocaust survivors reunite with liberator nearly 65 years after they were freed

March 5, 1945: The U.S. Ninth Army reaches the Rhine River south of Düsseldorf, Germany. By Travis Loller, Associated Press...

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February 25, 2010

Wonderful Victory.

A note from liberator Frank Towers: Hi Matt:  Attaching the latest revised list of our Holocaust Survivors.  It is almost...

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30th Infantry Division Veterans News-Nashville is Waiting for YOU !!
February 22, 2010

30th Infantry Division Veterans News-Nashville is Waiting for YOU !!

Holiday Inn Opryland/Airport is the Place March 4 – 7 is the Time The Prez Sez: As your  President and...

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2010~The Year of the Liberator~Liberation of slave labor camp at Neusalz, Poland.
February 15, 2010

2010~The Year of the Liberator~Liberation of slave labor camp at Neusalz, Poland.

{As part of the conclusion to my USHMM Teacher Fellowship project, I  am posting the unfolding nature of the discovery of the...

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2010~The Year of the Liberator~Liberation of Gross Rosen-February 13, 1945
February 8, 2010

2010~The Year of the Liberator~Liberation of Gross Rosen-February 13, 1945

{As part of the conclusion to my USHMM Teacher Fellowship project, I  am posting the unfolding nature of the discovery of the...

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