Delivered June 3, 2026\u00a0 Columbia SC<\/p>\n
NOTE: I began with this news, with the point being perhaps participants aren’t aware of what is happening around the US around antisemitism.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Santa Monica, California, last week, a Jewish couple was attacked by a man with a vicious dog and a baseball bat. Several weeks ago, synagogues and homes were vandalized with swastikas in New York City, and then a mob hostile to the Jewish state of Israel clashed with Jews outside a synagogue in Brooklyn. As disturbing as those incidents were, they paled in comparison to the fiery attack on a Michigan synagogue in April, the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers last May, and other violent crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
NOTE: I shared this Elie Wiesel quote:\u00a0 \u201c to listen to a witness is to become a witness\u201d\u00a0 Then I played back two short videos, one of Bluma and one of Felix.\u00a0 I noted that every time I speak to students, which I am often invited to do, I want them to know that these were real people, not something from a book.<\/p>\n
I was pleased to learn that each of you have received a copy of April\u2019s HOLOCAUST REMEMBERED magazine\u2026mostly because on page 46, Dr. Williams referenced media literacy\u2014something I\u2019ve been teaching as a consultant for 25 years. He wrote: \u201cmedia literacy has become equally essential particularly for digital natives who encounter the Holocaust\u201d\u2026and he goes on to say that \u201cmedia literacy is necessary to combat misinformation.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hope you do teach MEDIA LITERACY.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t need to tell you that those so-called \u201cdigital natives\u201d are exposed to an EXPLOSION of AI-generated images and deepfakes… many of the Holocaust. My worry as a media literacy educator is that they may not recognize the fake, take the time to verify or fact check what they\u2019re consuming, especially on social media.<\/p>\n
A May survey by the anti-defamation league (ADL) found that antisemitic assaults in the US reached a record high last year. \u00a0We know that antisemitism led to the Holocaust.\u00a0 Even more disturbing to me is that, of the hundreds of students I\u2019ve spoken to, few if any can define antisemitism or propaganda\u2026.so I think there is more work to be done.<\/p>\n
I am here this afternoon as author of WE SURVIVED THE\u00a0 HOLOCAUST (and allow me now to thank Scott and Jeff for providing your all with a copy).\u00a0 I want you all to know that last Fall another version of the Goldberg story was published. It\u2019s a narrative paperback entitled \u201cRisk, Resilience and Redemption\u201d and I wrote it after a school librarian suggested this version.<\/p>\n
The graphic novel is not only the story of how the Bluma and Felix survived being slave laborers, but it also provides important context for the reader: what was happening in Germany that led up to the Holocaust.<\/p>\n
When I first presented our book, 3 \u00bd years ago, to an audience at the Tree of Life synagogue here, I was pleasingly surprised that Dr. Eargle had already reviewed it.. He said and I quote:
\nAs an instructional resource, it contextualizes the Holocaust;
\nit identifies the characteristics of facism and authoritarianism;
\nit infuses the story with Jewish culture AND
\nit presents a story of family. (thank you again Jeff)<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve heard from teachers who said: \u201cFrank we have the Diary of Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel\u2019s NIGHT, but now we have YOUR book and it is more meaningful BECAUSE it is a South Carolina story.\u201d<\/p>\n
You should know that with the royalites I have received from the sales of the graphic novel, we have now provided a copy for every middle school and high school library in the state. Copies were distributed at the last 4 annual school library conferences.\u00a0 Also the book has been translated into Spanish and we created a teacher guide to help educators better integrate it into instruction. (refer to handout)<\/p>\n
Folks, I would not be standing here this afternoon, if it were not for the trust the GOLDBERG family put in me to tell their parents story.\u00a0 Among other things they loaned me a box that contained papers that had survived the war. In it I found the manifest of the ship that brought the family from Germany to New Orleans and then to Columbia. Searching online, I located a B&W silent film of the maiden voyage of the ship.<\/p>\n
That film and other resources make up part of the educator website STORIESOFSURVIVAL.org. The website is divided into 3 parts: before the war; during the war; after the war.\u00a0 The site features an historical timeline as well as geographic maps indicating all of the locations mentioned in the book.\u00a0 Your students can watch both Felix and Bluma\u2019s interviews with SCETV and the Shoah Foundation as well as access other education content.<\/p>\n
We hope you and your students find it of value.<\/p>\n
At this stage in my life, this has become a LABOR OF LOVE. Let me offer myself to you the teacher\u2026if you see an opportunity for me to join you in the classroom and speak about the Goldbergs, about antisemitism and media literacy, please INVITE ME.<\/p>\n
I will end here with a few quotes:
\nBluma Goldberg said: We think that\u2019s why we survived, so that we could tell the story.<\/p>\n
Felix Goldberg said: I know they\u2019re hearing it every year, but you have to remind them.<\/p>\n
Finally, Elie Wiesel said \u201c to listen to a witness is to become a witness\u201d\u00a0 Thank you and your students for becoming witnesses..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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