Suzanne Moore of Middletown is participating in the Lipper internship program at the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, in New York.
Photo courtesy Museum of Jewish Heritage
February 05, 2008
Suzanne Moore of Middletown has been chosen to participate in an internship program at the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, in New York City.
She is one of 15 Lipper interns who are learning to teach the history of the Holocaust and Jewish life to middle- and high-school students throughout New Jersey.
Moore is pursuing a graduate degree in history at Monmouth University in West Long Branch and will complete her studies in 2009 (she received undergraduate degrees in secondary education and history from the university in 2007).
The program brings together graduate and undergraduate students from throughout the Northeast for a semester-long internship in museum education.
She began the program Jan. 2.
“This internship is one of the most valuable experiences of my life,” said Moore. “I am experiencing it on a deep, personal level, and I am learning that people can make a difference if they are aware of history’s lessons and if they know about events taking place in today’s world.”
The interns attend a 10-day training session at the museum. During the semester, the interns return to their college campuses and visit students in middle schools and high schools to teach introductory lessons about the Holocaust. They also bring the classes to the museum for guided tours, after which the students return to their classrooms and discuss what they learned.
Moore said she has always been a history buff and became interested in the Holocaust after her mother, Gail, related the story of twins who lived near her New York home during her youth. The twins were Holocaust survivors and related their tales of horror to their neighbor.
“I was very moved when my mother told me about these two women,” Moore said. “I took a Holocaust course as an undergraduate and I knew some basic facts. I knew that six million [Jews] died, but I didn’t know how systematic the extermination process was.”
Holocaust survivors addressed the class, and their stories had a huge impact on Moore.
“When I heard them speak, I was overwhelmed,” she said. “I still remember every story I heard. What happened to them affected the rest of their lives in such drastic ways. It took great courage for them to relate what they had endured. And for me, it was the beginning of an important learning process.”
The Lipper interns are learning to teach the lessons of the Holocaust through text and artifacts.
Students “see the striped uniforms that the Jews wore when they were imprisoned in the camps, and we are taught to ask them to imagine what it would be like to be forced to wear this clothing,” she said. “They see passports stamped with the letter ‘J’ and the students are told to think about what this means and the discrimination it caused.”
Moore is currently preparing for the classroom visits and museum tours.
“When this semester ends in June and the internship program is complete, I know I’ll be more aware of what people can do to prevent acts of genocide, such as those that are now taking place in Darfur,” she said. “The lessons of the Holocaust can teach us what can happen if we don’t stand up for justice. I want to spread the word and share what I’ve learned.”