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One of the Last Holocaust Survivors Visits Obama

Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Public Schools

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Written by Don Crawford

If you have ever had the experience of seeing or listening to a huge part of history right in front of you, as you learn about hardships and struggles that have been experienced through the course of life, you know it is a powerful experience. If you have ever had someone tell you of horrible struggles in their life it is likely that it made you appreciate the little things in your own life. 9^th grade students in Mr.Denlinger’s classes had such an experience on Wednesday October 13, 2010.  While upperclassmen were taking the PSAT, 9^th grade students attended an assembly in the library to hear Moshe Baran, a holocaust survivor, tell of his story of living in a German controlled town.

Mr. Baran briefly spoke before he sat down to present a movie to the students about his wife and his journey to freedom.  While watching the movie the students were dismayed at how bad it was and about how small their complaints about little things in life actually are. During the movie, the only noise heard was the noise of Mr. Baran crying. Soon after the movie was over, the students found out the cause of the crying was that Mr. Baran’s wife passed away.

 As the assembly ended, a short passage was read and students had the chance to go and greet Mr. Baran. “Letters mean a lot to a man his age. When he is no longer able to go out and tell his story, he needs something to read and remember” Mr.Denlinger told students before asking them to write a short letter to Mr. Baran. A great many students indeed wrote words of thanks to Mr. Baran, including Kaya Jackson, Trevor Brown, Chelsea Arrington, and Stephan Dennis.

Kaya wrote, “I am gladly honored to have been able to hear you speak about your story. You inspire me to be even more thankful for everyday the good Lord has blessed me with. Keep going strong and may God be with you.” Trevor continued, “Thank you for everything you shared with us. I honestly admire you and your family. Thank You.”

Chelsea summed up her feelings in writing, “I feel that I am truly blessed to have met you, and hear your story. Your story made me realize that my life isn’t as hard as it may seem. You and your wife gave me hope and faith. God bless you and I hope to see you soon.”

But perhaps Stephan said it best when he wrote, “Thank you for sharing your life story with us. I realized how easy I have it and how we all have to help each other out through hard times.  You helped me realize that you shouldn’t give up no matter what it takes, and you should be grateful for every day you have.”