Hickory Creek students Skype with Holocaust survivor

Using modern technology to learn about an event that took place decades ago, eighth grade students at Hickory Creek Middle School met a special visitor via Skype recently.

Holocaust survivor, Sidney Finkel, was present by video conference to answer questions from the students.  His visit was scheduled in conjunction with the eighth grade study of World War II and the students’ reading  “Night,” “The Diary of Anne Frank” and Finkel’s book, “Sevek and the Holocaust - The Boy Who Refused to Die.” The interaction with Mr. Finkel was intended to provide the students with a real life connection to history and their studies.

Finkel was a boy when Hitler’s army invaded Poland and he spent time in the Ghetto, labor camps and Buchenwald Concentration Camp.  He experienced the horrors of seeing his own family members killed because they were Jewish. 

Finkel was speaking to the students from Arizona and they could interact with him via teleconference while he was projected on a big screen.  Students and teachers took turns asking him questions about his experiences.  Some of the questions included whether he had managed to find an ally or friend in the camp, if he was ever afraid he would die in the camp, whether he has met other Holocaust survivors, if he ever tried to escape from the camp and what it was like in the last days before liberation, 

Despite his troubled background, Finkel remains optimistic about the future.  He stated, “In camp I never thought I would die because I always thought I was special and would live.  I am still optimistic today.”  He told students that they should study hard and that he was confident things would be good in the future.  He said he was glad to be with them but enjoys being in the schools in person even better.  He stated, “It is a good feeling to be in touch with you in this way but I wish I could give you a hug!”