Connecting with a Holocaust survivor

STERLING – Making a new friend also has made a dark chapter of history real for some Challand Middle School eighth-graders.

Language arts teacher Jan Nesemeier’s students discovered 82-year-old Holocaust survivor Elly Gross’ tragic past by reading Gross’ book, “Storms of the Innocents.”.

Reading the book wasn't enough, though. Nesemeier did some digging and found Gross' website, www.ellygross.com, and emailed her.

“She wrote back an hour later,” Nesemeier said.

They began to correspond, and Gross sent Nesemeier an autographed copy of her book, complete with a couple of inscriptions.

One reads, “In memory of those silenced before their time.” Another is directed to Nesemeier, “Teach children hatred and prejudice create only destruction, and there are no winners.”

The students also emailed Gross, and now are writing letters to her. Gross’s book, and heir interaction, have painted a more than complete picture.

“If they never heard of the Holocaust, now they know,” Nesemeier said. “Maybe our connection with Elly made it seem more real.”

Holocaust survivors are dying, and her students are the last generation afforded the chance to learn directly from them, Nesemeier said.

“We certainly don’t want that history to repeat itself.”

Student James Schauff agreed.

“It’s something that needs to be talked about,” the 15-year-old said. “It’s something with a life lesson. We really need to accept others’ for their differences.”

Ashley Roberts, 14, read Gross’ book before the unit began. It made the educational experience all the more interesting and cemented her affinity for the Holocaust survivor.

“It’s great to know she’s still here,” she said. “She was one of my heroes, before we started. She could go through all of that and still be OK.”

Angel Starbuck, 14, marveled at the harsh realities that Gross faced and triumphed over.

“People would be amazed at what she had to go through,” Angel said. “She barely ate. The water was dirty. (But) she always looked forward. She never gave up.”

Teens won’t ever fully understand what young people during World War II endured – to them, getting grounded is “the end of the world,” Angel said.

“They had barely any hope at all. We, as teenagers, take things for granted.”

More about Elly

Elly Gross, of Jamaica, N.Y., was born Elly Berkovits on Valentine's Day in 1929, and orphaned at age 15. Allies liberated her from a camp in Salzwedel, Germany on April 14, 1945.

Every year she marks the anniversary by calling one of her liberators, 95-year-old Max Liebers of Rio Rancho, Ariz., a German native who joined the U.S. military.

Being set free remains a vivid memory. Freedom came on a "beautiful, sunny day." The word "free" meant nothing to her at the time, though, she said in a phone interview. She finally realized what was happening when she heard, "You're going home."

She has since written three books: "The Poems of Elly Gross: Memories of a Holocaust Survivor," a collection of poetry she began when she entered college, in her 60s; "Storm Against the Innocents: Holocaust Memories and other Stories," a combination of poems and stories; and "Elka's Growing Up in a Changing World," an illustrated story book that follows a young Jewish girl through the 1920's.

"I'm writing in plain English," Gross said. "I'm writing life the way I saw it, when I was their age.

"Maybe I'll change the norm," she said. "It's worth the struggle. It's worth everything."

Go to www.ellygross.com to learn more about Gross and her books; her email is grelka@aol.com.