Yeshivat He’Atid’s fifth-grade students have completed their unit on Holocaust Studies. As a culminating project, the students researched individuals who were declared Righteous Among Nations. They learned about people who were not Jewish, yet risked everything to save Jewish people during the Holocaust. The students used a special Yad Vashem database to navigate through a list of names of the Righteous Gentiles and the many Jews they saved during World War II.

Each child selected a hero and conducted in-depth research into the history, life and story of the Righteous Gentile they selected. The children created slides detailing their chosen hero’s background and what they did during the war to earn them the designation of Righteous Among Nations.

The children took the project a step further as they worked to mimic a real museum exhibit by creating their own artifacts reflecting the stories they researched. Some students recreated diary entries or letters written by their selected hero or by the Jews who were saved. Others built artifacts that represented objects from their stories and the time period. The students learned a great deal from this immersive project and the school is so proud of their hard work! The exhibit was displayed in school, and middle school students were invited to learn from the fifth graders. This was a meaningful and informative event for all.