Remember Them This Memorial Day

This month’s Calling All Teachers e-newsletter highlights an opportunity for you and your students to interact with Holocaust survivor Ela Weissberger as she shares stories from her childhood at Theresienstadt concentration camp.

As a propaganda tool, the Nazis approved of certain cultural activities at Theresienstadt, included the staging of a children’s opera, Brundibár. During our FREE, live webinar from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. CT on Friday, May 13. Ela will not only relate her personal story of struggle and survival, but also her casting as the role of the cat in Brundibár, and what the staging of this opera around the world means to her today. Teachers will also receive curriculum materials related to the program upon registering, so sign up today!

The May Calling All Teachers e-newsletter also provides information about the winners of our Student Essay Contest as well as the Louisiana students who are headed to Washington, D.C., for National History Day. The Museum is proud to serve as the state sponsor for National History Day in Louisiana.

Finally, this month’s Calling All Teachers shines the spotlight on the Museum’s My Memorial Day website, where students can learn more about the contributions of WWII men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. The My Memorial Day website features brief biographies of individuals such as Marine First Lt. Leonard Isacks, who sustained fatal injuries on the beach at Iwo Jima in February 1945, along with photographs and artifacts that highlight these brave men and women’s wartime experiences. Online students can read a heartfelt letter that Isacks wrote two months before his death, in which he told his “dear little boys” to never be bullies and to stand up for “the smaller fellow.” He also urged his sons to “have courage to do the things that you think are right.”

Get more classroom resources and ideas by signing up for our free monthly e-newsletter Calling All Teachers and following us on Twitter @wwiieducation.

Post by Dr. Walter Stern, K-12 Curriculum Coordinator at The National WWII Museum.