Schindler's List Survivor Inspires at WHS

Early in her childhood in Poland, Rena Ferber Finder said, "I had a wonderful life" and was "surrounded by loving family."

"But unfortunately, my wonderful life didn't last very long," she told an audience in the Westborough High School auditorium recently.

When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, "I became an enemy of the state" and was "not allowed to go to school anymore. The Jewish businesses were taken away from us," and "we were not allowed to own pets.”

Finder ultimately was among those saved by businessman Oskar Schindler, whose efforts inspired the movie “Schindler’s List.”

Finder spoke at Westborough High during the first of what will become an annual fundraiser for the Westborough Friends of Facing History and Ourselves Foundation.

Finder is among the national Facing History and Ourselves organization’s resource speakers, although that wasn’t always the case.

"The survivors, if we ever talked about the Holocaust, it was between each other. On the other hand, we wanted to go on with our lives. And so, we were silent,” she said.

"We hope and pray that for our children, our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren, it will teach them a lesson of standing up, not to be a bystander, and they will change the world."

The Westborough Friends’ foundation seeks “to support the Facing History and Ourselves curriculum at Westborough High School in Westborough Massachusetts, including students and teachers of the course,” according to its website.

The foundation started, "like many movements, with one person,” treasurer Gail McBride said.

"We are often confronted with conflict and disagreements, globally, nationally, within our families, within our circle of friends. And we often wonder, 'What can we do to make a difference?'" she said.

WHS social studies teacher Greg Gallagher "wanted to positively impact his students and our community" and wanted to bring the Facing History and Ourselves course to Westborough, with a foundation to support it, McBride said.

Now, "we have two teachers trained to teach the course," which now is offered to both juniors and seniors, she said.

"We had a couple of community events, and this surpasses everything. It's wonderful to see all your faces in the audience,” McBride said.

WHS 2012 graduate Jessica Beliveau said the class "holds a special place in my heart.”

"I can remember looking around the room at my classmates. Some were friends. Some were kids that I had never met before that day. The beauty of the class is that it accepts students from across the spectrum. And by the end, they share a unique, unspoken bond unlike any other. They've all witnessed evil, but have come out on the other side not with a sense of hopelessness, but with a sense of faith,” she said.

"The goal here is simple: it's to get young adults to stand up. To stand up means to take action when the easier choice would be to remain silent."