Year 10 History

Year 10 History excursion to the Jewish and Holocaust Museum 

On the 23rd of April, the Year 10 History classes visited the Jewish and Holocaust Museum. Below are three recounts – Enjoy!

… At the Jewish museum we were guided through Jewish history and customs that go back hundreds of years. We got to meet first hand Jewish people who had personal experiences from following the religion. Towards the end of the visit we got to experience the St. Kilda Synagogue then participate in a Sabbath. After having a taste into Jewish foods we then ventured to the Holocaust museum. Here was a very representable place of the 6 million Jews lost during the duration of World War two. We got to meet Maria, a survivor of the Holocaust and ask her questions about her story. This was a very sentimental experience that was honestly a massive privilege. Overall the day was full of new learning and was really a deep but important thing to learn about.

From this experience, I learnt what Jewish people had to endure and just how massive the impact was on so many lives around the world. At the Jewish museum it really taught me and others how the Jewish culture is very interesting and just a belief like many others. Maria, the Holocaust survivor really made the experience real. Her story touched your heart of how drastic and gloomy the Holocaust was and taught me how people struggled to survive. Throughout exploring the museum it made the lives lost really apparent, how the 6 million lives lost were human beings with feelings and emotions like the rest of us and mainly how they did not deserve to lose their lives. Being Jewish doesn’t make you different neither does being catholic or Christian, every human is alike. There is no such thing as race.

Based on my learnings from this excursion I will implement it into my everyday life. To remember that every action and word spoken directs Australia and Australians as a country. Everyone is a human being despite religion, culture and their appearance.

By Felicity Stirrup

…From the experience I learnt what it was like for the Jewish before, middle and after the holocaust and what the Jewish had to do just to survive. I also learnt some Jewish stories and names to put to faces. Hearing the Holocaust survivor’s recollections, I learnt what it was like for someone who had a happy child hood to completely changed and how also what they had to go through even after the war with knowing that all her close friends had died when she was living in a cellar with a few rabbits keeping her and people she loved alive.

Based on what I learnt from the excursion, I will think about the numbers as people and families that died instated of just of a number. I will also remember that we are one race which is human and think about how could one human do this to another intend of just except that as a fact.

By Emily Sell

…Learning about Jewish values and beliefs made me realise how diverse and interesting their religion really is. Following this, we visited the St. Kilda Synagogue. It was a beautiful building full of Jewish culture. We were showed how a normal prayer ceremony would be conducted. After this, we were taken back into the museum to eat traditional Jewish food. Our meal consisted of pita bread, hummus, pickles, salad, and falafel.

After we had finished our meal we were then taken to the Holocaust museum. To start off our experience, we were shown an introductory video that explained what the Holocaust was and its effects. A memorable quote from the video was that “Numbers make you numb”. I feel like this was very deep, as even I myself can still not fathom the amount of deaths during the Holocaust. Next, we were introduced to Maria a survivor of the Holocaust, who survived by hiding and living under false papers. Hearing her story helped me understand the full extent of life during the Holocaust. The fact that we got to listen to an eye witness of the Holocaust made the statistics we are always hearing more significant. Maria’s story has made me appreciate the life we have in Australia.

Based on what I learnt from the excursion, I have developed a deeper appreciation for the courage of the Jewish population and what they endured. From the excursion, I have also learnt that every word and action can affect others. Due to this, I think now I will be more mindful of myself as everyone is human.

By Dominique Dee