On November 10th 2015, Sierra Linda had the honor of having guest speaker and Holocaust survivor, Charlotte Adelman tell her courageous story to a group of freshman and sophomores in the cafeteria. The event was set up by ESL teacher, Mrs. Quezada, along with the 9-10th grade English department.

Mrs. Adelman was born on March 26, 1932 and grew up in Paris, France. Before the war began, she recalls having a delightful childhood and living in a beautiful building, one in which the majority of people were Jewish. Once the war arose, the Jewish population was heavily monitored, for instance, their ID’s had to be marked with red stamps and children would have to get yellow stars sewn into their clothes to be identified as Jewish.

She spent many years living in fear, especially when she was separated from her family and sent to an orphanage. She states, “I was separated from my family for four years.” After hearing a conversation between the woman who adopted her and a German man, she knew she was moments away from being sent to a camp. Adelman quickly reported this to a janitor and he contacted for help. Shortly, a noodle truck was sent from her father to take her to Eastern France. Her father arranged that a family would take care of her meanwhile he worked, but the Germans had quickly invaded Eastern France, meaning Adelman had to go into hiding once more. “I was fourteen when  my father found me,” she quotes.

Charlotte’s father carried her into the woods where another family, the Quatrevilles, took her in. She lived in their cellar for nine months, with German soldiers continuously searching the house over that time period. Although very lonely and in a dark cellar, she was well fed and taken care of. She stayed with the family until she could be reunited with her father. Eventually, she was reunited with both her father and brother. Adelman recalls that her biggest strength had come in hopes of finding her mother, but she received devastating news that her mother had died in Auschwitz.

As time passed, Adelman got married and moved to America. It wasn’t until last year that she began to share her story. She now goes to schools to speak on her brave survival and share her words of wisdom with young students.

When interviewed, here is what Ms. Quezada and Mrs. Vaughan had to say about the outcome of the event:

Ms. Quezada 

ESL/English Dept

Q: What was your motivation for bringing her? Part of class?

 “With regard to motivation, the English 9-10 Teachers having been getting together on a regular basis to plan our lessons.  When we started teaching Night, a novel written by Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, we discussed what resources we could bring to the classroom. Night is a novel about seeing the Holocaust through the eyes of a child.  During one of our discussions, I brought up the idea of inviting a Holocaust survivor coming to speak to our students. I asked my English 9-10 colleagues what they thought about it, and they were excited about the idea of inviting a Holocaust survivor.”

Q: Was the event successful as you planned?

“Yes! Students warmed up to her and were very interested in listening to her story. At the end of the presentation, many went up to talk to her, hug her, and take photos with her.”

Q: What did you hope the students would get out of it?

“I hoped history would come alive in their minds. I hoped students would grow in their understanding of the reality that tyranny does exist and that we can never allow it to happen again.”

Mrs. Vaughn 

English Teacher/Dept

Q: What was your motivation for bringing her? Part of class?

“We are reading Night by Elie Wiesel and we’re trying to find a way to make the Jewish Holocaust more personal.  Sometimes you hear 6 million Jews, 5 million others, 50 million in WWII, and the numbers are just words. We were trying to put faces on the experience. Inviting a real person was the best way to do that. (Also look for our Children of the Holocaust display going up in the English Hall next week.)”

Q: Was the event successful as you planned?

“More!  The cafeteria was filled with students who were mesmerized by the history being shared by the person who experienced it. (We are talking 150+ sophomores here!) AND they now will remember, share and become a part of history (and the future) with their responses to the world and each other from here on out.”

 Q: What did you hope the students got out of it?

“We are all connected, and to put my own spin on the famous quote, “Those who are aware of history, are destined to change the future.”

SL students having a personal conversation with Charlotte.

Assistant Principal Mrs. Sempkowski, Charlotte and SL student are all smiles.

Top Dawg Mr. Madrid strike a pose for the camera.

Charlotte greets Mrs. Gordon with pure joy.