As a senior in the honors religion course, Human Rights, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the 2023 Lessons of the Shoah.

When I was an underclassman, I always walked the halls in the fall and saw the posters in the hallways depicting the horrors inflicted upon Jewish people in the Holocaust.

As a result, I decided to apply for the Human Rights class, knowing that I could possibly participate in such an important event.

Lessons of the Shoah is a program dedicated to teach John Carroll students and students from various private and public schools about the Holocaust — everything from the inhumane brutality of it to the brave resistance of Jewish people.

This year’s theme of the program was “Courage in the Face of Adversity,” which highlighted exclamatory acts of courage and bravery in the midst of horrific crimes.

The program opened with a keynote speech given by Dr. Ellen J. Kennedy. Dr. Kennedy talked about the Rwandan genocide that she witnessed herself. The intense details of how brutal it was truly shocked me to my core.

Dr. Kennedy’s main message of her presentation was that “knowledge is not power without action,” telling us that we must have the intelligence to know what is happening while also actually doing something about it.

After Dr. Kennedy, we heard from Mrs. Lola Hahn, who shared her family’s connection to the Schindler’s List film from a Jewish perspective.

I had the opportunity to be Mrs. Hahn’s tour guide during the day, an experience that was truly unforgettable. It was so amazing to hear her additional stories. She is a first generation American and child of Holocaust survivors. Her two aunts and mother were saved by Oskar Schindler, the man who saved her family along with another 1000 Jews.

Mrs. Hahn was also incredibly personable. She told me about her favorite travels, which included various cities in Spain. She also asked about my future goals and hopes. Not only did she hold interest in them, but she also told others there before talking about herself.

The program ended with Ms. Uta Allers, who was born in Nazi Germany. Her speech was very eye-opening and inspiring as she dove into the topics of how we can build bridges to be upstanders in today’s world.

Although I take this class and have been learning about genocide, Lessons of the Shoah truly opened my eyes. It was interesting to hear first accounts as well as having conversations with a wide range of individuals.

From the day, I learned that knowledge alone is not enough. We must take action if we want change to be made. I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the program, and I urge underclassmen to consider taking Human Rights during their senior year.