Seaford Sixth Graders Learn Holocaust History From Guest Speaker

SEAFORD, NY. — Seaford Middle School hosted an important educational visitor last week, as Nassau County Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center director of education Donna Rosenblum visited the school Feb. 5 and 6 to teach students about the atrocities committed during the Holocaust.

The visit from Rosenblum followed the reading and study of “Jacob’s Rescue” by sixth graders, a historical fiction book based on a true story that tells the story of a Christian family hiding a Jewish boy and his two brothers to keep them safe from persecution. The book was accompanied by a series of research projects focusing on holocaust heroes, culminating in a visit from Rosenblum that district officials said featured, “meaningful dialogue with students over one of history’s greatest atrocities.”

For Seaford Middle School Principal Dr. Raphael Morey, the visit was an important lesson in empathy, and in seeing how resilient people can be against even the greatest of atrocities.

“It’s important to learn about historical tragedies, so we can ensure that they don’t happen again, and work on ways of bettering our community,” Morey said. “We appreciate the collaboration with the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center and their educators who deliver this information in an appropriate and meaningful way."

District officials said Rosenblum’s visit included a presentation highlighting the way hate can progress and the danger that comes with it. Rosenblum, district officials said, encouraged students to speak up when they saw discrimination and injustice in their everyday lives. Also included in her presentation was testimony from Irving Roth, a Holocaust survivor who emigrated to the United States in 1947 and lived on Long Island until his 2021 death. Rosenblum then finished each session with a question and answer session. The assembly, district officials said, followed Jan. 27’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.