In West Orange: Roosevelt Middle School Students Learn About Holocaust

West Orange, NJ – Sometimes visuals make all the difference.

Students at Roosevelt Middle School in West Orange recently experienced a live presentation from actress Elizabeth Rainer as part of the school’s annual Holocaust assembly on May 9, administrators reported.

The presentation, “Living Voices: Through the Eyes of Friend,” fictionalized the journey of Anne Frank after her family’s capture until her death and included Rainer’s dramatic interpretation and a multimedia presentation.

Portraying “Sara Weis,” a composite character inspired by the experiences and testimonies of many individuals who knew Anne Frank, Rainer helped students to personalize the war and connect them to the lives of the young girls.

Fran Malkin, a West Orange resident and Holocaust survivor who has spoken at RMS several times, also attended the program, which was sponsored by the Social Studies and English Language Arts programs.

Roosevelt ELA teacher Jay Wecht, who organizes the yearly assembly, said that he was excited by Rainer’s comments to him following the assembly.

“[Rainer] said to me that she has delivered this Living Voices performance countless times, but she has never seen such support from a district and a community before,” Wecht said.

“Elizabeth went on to tell me how genuinely impressed she was that the superintendent, the president of the Board and other board members, administrators, supervisors, the mayor, and Town Council Members were all in attendance,” Wecht said.

“[Rainer] said what a positive, first impression she had today of our schools and of West Orange, and she was particularly impressed by the clear and firm commitment we have when it comes to the teaching of the Holocaust,” Wecht noted.

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Photo courtesy of West Orange Public Schools