This online journal was begun to chronicle the unfolding of something very special in my career – the re-connection of a train transport full of 2500 Holocaust survivors with the American soldiers who liberated them on April 13th, 1945 near Magdeburg, Germany.
I am the history teacher from a small rural town in upstate New York, USA who, along with his students, is caught up in the middle of it all. Read the post “A Train Near Magdeburg” to get started. It’s changed my life and the lives of hundreds of others thus far. I’m also working on a book about this amazing experience, and it is part of my United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Teacher Fellowship project, which you can read about by clicking the link below. I’d also like to announce that we are planning one final three day reunion in late September 2009 here at our high school in upstate NewYork for the liberators, soldiers, survivors and their families and our students.
Please contact me with any comments or questions and help us get the word out about this project, to reunite even more liberators and survivors before time passes us by.
As we approach the 65th anniversary of the liberation, the power of love has conquered the evil and is now transcending time and space.
Liberators and Holocaust Survivors Reunited-
World War II Living History Project
Thanks for stopping by.
Matthew Rozell
marozell@gmail.com
(And if you are a Holocaust denier/minimizer/revisionist, and/or run-of-the-mill hate spewer, thank you in advance for sparing me your epistles… I’ve already heard it all.)
Copyright © 2009 by Matthew A Rozell
A former student of yours posted links to your websites in response to a Holocaust Remembrance Day posting I made on a woodworking forum I frequent. I’ll be returning there to thank him shortly, but stopped off to thank you for the work you and your students are doing. It is important that the individual stories of those who were there be told. Thank you for your efforts in this.
As the husband of a High School English Teacher, gotta differ with you about what subject matters the most. Gotta be able to read in order to learn history, but I’ll give History (not social studies) second chair.
Over at the woodworking forum we have a saying, “Better to learn from the mistakes of others since we don’t have time to make them all ourselves.” Would that more of those who have the microphones and soapboxes in our world would bother to learn from the mistakes of history, but it seems they are often more intent on rewriting it than in learning from it.
Again, thank you for your efforts on this most important subject.
Jerry Palmer
Cedar Park, TX
Jerry,
Some of my most informed students are non-readers. History Channel, I suppose…that said…
One can’t minimize the importance of being able to read and write well. But, what is “English” anyway? The study of language and literature, inexorably linked to the experience of man, which is history. There is no first or second chair.
Thanks for your comment and your support. Matt
Hello Matt,
Pete at USHMM asked me to contact you and send you a link to my Quad City liberators’ website which was my project as an MTF. The Quad Cities includes four main cities, two on the Illinois side and two on the Iowa side (Rock Island, IL; Moline, IL; Davenport, IA; Bettendorf, IA). and the surrounding area.
http://www.qcliberators.com/
Sincerely,
Terri T.
MTF 2005
I never realized how important history is, and that there is so much around us, that is until this year.
My grandmother took care of a ww2 veteran for many years. For as long as could remember, he would tell me stories about fighting during ww2 and the wounds he had gotten. Because I was just a kid, I never realized he had faught in ww2, and now it seems much more important.
I guess what I’m trying to say, is that you are an amazing teacher. You make people want to care about History, the good and the bad. In one year you can change lives. Especially with the Holocaust reunion.
Keep up the website! I’m no psychic, but I think your grandmother was trying to tell you something. Maybe the “Lucky Penny” will bring you some inspiration and you will figure it out.
Hey Mr R,
I’ve been reading your blog for awhile now and I have to say I am very touched with your devout love for humanity.
You are one of those special teachers students can never seem to forget, myself included
I hope you will still be teaching at HF when my kids get into 10th grade… 5 more years! That would make me very happy indeed.
There are so many beautiful stories posted on this site! Thanks again for sharing them.
Mick
WOW! i’m impressed. what a great effort on your part, the school district and your student’s to put this reunion together. i commend you, especially, mr. mozell for having the vision, inspiration and leadership to make something of this great magnitude happen in a small corner of the U.S. it takes the courageous voice of people like you in every corner of the world to echo the refrain of so many survivors, “Never again!”
Thank you and shalom.
Chris
Never Again! blog administrator