Dr. Fripp recounts stories from those who lived through the Holocaust from a first-person perspective. After the stories are told, the audience engages in a discussion about what the stories teach and a question about them posed by Dr. Fripp. This style of teaching the Holocaust helps students more closely connect with the people in the time period they are studying, and provides specific, concrete examples of how the Holocaust affected Europe that students can then use as a jumping-off point to analyze the Holocaust as a whole.

Something I learned about was how, in ghettos, Jews risked their lives to preserve their culture and teach, making children there happier. Their is a great focus on Jewish suffering when teaching the Holocaust, and Dr. Fripp’s inclusion of a story that involved joy was very important. It helped me reevaluate my view of how Jewish children in ghettos felt.

[Moments of Witness, the interfaith commemoration,]  was beautiful. I felt seen, a sense of belonging and a common thread of humanity with the strength to look at the horrors we face as reminders to keep fighting the good fight

This is beneficial because it helps you learn in a way that you cannot by reading articles.

Last night we had our graduation ceremony, and the kids were raving about the storytelling. This vehicle was more successful than anything I could ever have imagined.

Recently, we invited Dr. Fripp to our Grade 9 Humanities class in order to augment our unit on the Holocaust. Fripp worked closely with our teaching team prior to her visit in order to understand where we wanted to go, and she offered excellent suggestions on how to get there. She is an expert in Holocaust education, including the scope, sequence, and pacing of Holocaust curriculum.  Her tips to foreground personal stories, ahead of the perpetrators’ actions, gave us a new way to teach our unit. During Dr. Fripp’s visit, students were engaged, attentive, and even emotional when listening to three uniquely told stories.  Dr. Fripp provided background, thinking questions, and continued to relate her work to our unit’s driving question in a way that classroom teachers cannot always do. The value of storytelling was incalculable.  We will gladly invite her back in years to come.

I first learned of Jennifer Zunikoff’s work with college students researching and telling Holocaust stories over a decade ago at a NewCAJE Jewish Educators’ conference, and I was in awe of the devotion and respect with which the presenters shared their stories. I learned of Teach the Shoah as it was being developed by Deborah Fripp and Jennifer a few years ago, also at a NewCAJE conference. What an essential program this has become! Their invaluable programs should be required for every Middle School and High School program everywhere, in Jewish and secular settings. It is an invaluable visceral experience to hear a Holocaust story told in first person as a result of immersive research and heart connection.

We cannot ever forget. Through guided Storytelling training, the chance to share stories via ZOOM programs, the research, the rituals of the commemoration, the classroom lectures and so much more, Teach the Shoah is ensuring that the memories of those who perished in the Holocaust and those who survived are remembered, as their precious stories are preserved and perpetuated. Teach the Shoah is a lifesaving, life-giving treasure for the ages.

Good liturgy bends time. It has a way of taking the past and bringing it into the now, connecting us generationally. It takes you to your descendants and brings your ancestors to you. You really captured that.

Dr. Fripp brings new light to the understanding of passing on stories, the most interesting thing about these stories is that they are told through the perspective of the Jewish survivors. This adds more of a personal level and makes the students more intrigued.

Wow – what an amazing program- Jennifer Rudick Zunikoff and Deborah Fripp crafted an amazing journey through a granddaughter’s Holocaust recounting of family love, resilience, determination, and a gift of appreciation between generations. And the experience didn’t stop there. I’m in awe of the steps taken for appreciation, learning, sharing and imagining. I’m intrigued for more.

Working with Teach The Shoah has showed me the value of my family’s stories. They have helped me develop the narratives in meaningful ways and have given me the confidence to tell my stories that might never have been heard otherwise.

I learned just how horrible the experience actually was. I mean we all read books and accounts of survivors from the Holocaust, but we usually never actually see someone act in that situation. I think it was a great change to see Esther and Dr. Fripp act out some of the people because it felt like we were getting a key into a vault to see what it actually felt like first-hand for people who were going through the situation. Esther and Dr. Fripp actually performing for the class gave it that final touch that you can’t get through a screen.

Dr. Fripp was able to take someone’s story and retell it as if you were there in the moment with her.

What you have created is such a precious gem. We are all so blessed to have this sacred space.

I like how they told the stories in a way that felt very personal. Before Dr. Fripp’s visit, the Holocaust felt like a terrible historical event that we were researching in class. I didn’t really understand it on a more personal level. After Dr. Fripp’s visit, I had a better understanding of how the people felt.

A poignant and ultimately hopeful ritual. Using the words and visual artwork of the victims and survivors creates a deep and humanizing connection, reminding us to preserve and share the echoes of this tragedy to inspire future generations to ensure this history never repeats.

I have had the privilege of working with Deborah Fripp from Teach The Shoah.  I participated in the program during my tenure as Director of Education at the Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre.

The program teaches participants the skills to engage with the personal stories of those who survived the Shoah and those who did not.  This engagement gives docents and teachers the opportunity to share the lives of those who went through the Holocaust in “snapshot” moments. The stories are intended to open a window onto a life, share a moment of a life and convey the visitor to that moment. It allows the visitor to the museum to meet the human beings behind the numbers.

My experience learning this storytelling technique has been invaluable, it has changed the way I approach the exhibition and I have seen changes in the way the visitors respond to the exhibition.

Jennifer Rudick Zunikoff, master storyteller, is extremely generous in sharing her craft. My experience with her was in many ways life changing as she helped me discover the ability to share stories with others in a respectful and honest way.

I would recommend this program to all museums that teach a difficult and dark history. So often individual stories get lost in the attempt to teach the vastness of what happened, but it happened to individuals and it is vital that we remember them respectfully.  This is what Teach the Shoah does.

The stories that she told gave me lots of insight on what it might have been like to experience the Holocaust first person, and the delivery was done in such a way that I could feel the emotions, unlike when I read articles.

Honestly I felt like I was inside the story experiencing what the person was going through.

The Flower Mound Public Library has collaborated with Teach the Shoah for several years to bring programs to our community in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Their leadership team and presenters are experienced, knowledgeable, and an absolute joy to work with. These touching remembrance ceremonies enable people of all backgrounds to hear the powerful stories of those whose lives were changed forever by the Holocaust. Teach the Shoah is a valuable asset to our community, and we are grateful for their dedication to ensuring that these stories are not forgotten. We hope to continue partnering with them to bring high-quality, educational programs to the Library for years to come.