“Vergeten Oorlogskinderen” by Regina Sluszny and Georges Suchowolksi 1940-1945

Core features of the practice


  • Organisation:

    Institution name: Hidden Children in Belgium
    Institution type: Association
    Institution URL: regina.sluszny@telenet.be
  • Format:

    Other
  • Target population:

    Students, Young people, Educators in formal settings, General public/non-specialist audience
  • Cost (per practice):

    Free
  • Setting:

    Other institution, Schools
  • Themes:

    Remembrance education and/or history education, Antisemitism, Racism, The Holocaust and/or other genocides
  • Core activities:

    Testimonial

Additional information about the practice


    Target population

  • Number of participants:

    More than 100
  • Age of target population:

    16-18
  • Additional specifics:

    Race/ethnicity, children from 12 years on. For groups of minimum 10 persons

    • Components of the practice

  • Topics and objectives:

    I was hidden without my parents from 1942 till 1945. During that period I lived in a non-Jewish family Thanks to this family I survived the war. After the war I was lucky that my parents survived too through hidding . My husband was hidden but lost everybody in the war. My message is that Christians and Jews can live together without making war!! I tell the 2 stories and illustrate it with a power point. I speak Flemish -French- English ....
  • Materials used:

    Online material, Power point
  • Material produced:

    Written material
  • Sequence of activities - methodology:

    I tell my story and that of my husband Georges Suchowolski We both are hidden children. Since the ware I have two families: the one that saved me and my own. My husbands' parents were taken from Kazerne Dossin to Auschwitz , in the 22 nd transport, as Belgian citizens I work with a power point made from pictures and official papers. I do this for 15 years in schools and organisations I speak for about 1h up to 1.30h and give the possibility for questions about different topics: the war, being Jewish, the Jewish community in Belgium. I'm open to all questions.
  • Length of activity:

    Up to 5 hours
  • Is the activity digital?:

    No

    • Accessibility and replicability

  • Language(s) in which activity can be delivered:

    Dutch, English, French, Other
  • Is specialist knowledge or professional training required?:

    Yes
  • If yes, which type?:

    Remembrance, history, or museum education

Qualitative Details


  • Has this practice been evaluated?

    Yes
    • How many times?:

    10
  • By whom?:

    Participants
  • By what means?:

    Informal verbal feedback, Formal verbal feedback, Qualitative written feedback
  • Core content knowledge and transferable skills:

    Critical understanding of history about the Second World War and especially the situation of hidden children. Make the particpants think about how to live all together in peace I had a lot of nice reactions.
  • Indicators of success:

    Schools that are teaching about the Shoah can add a testimonial to their lessons. A survivor shares his/her experiences with the class group in that way that students can understand what happened and what the impact was and why it shoudl never happen again!!!!
  • Educational coordinator contact details:

    Name: Regina Sluszny
    Email address: regina.sluszny@telenet.be

Scalability

The RETHINK project is concerned with bridging formal and informal education. This section explores the factors that make a practice adaptable.


  • Key factors for successful implementation:

    Pre-knowledge on the Second World War and the situation of the Jews during that period.
  • Main challenges to teachers adapting this practice for their students:

    It helps them in the lessons about the Shoah.
  • Availability of guidance/training/replication materials (and in what language/format currently):

    I 4m a survivor of the Shoah and I tell my and my husband's story of live. There is also a book written about our stiry ' Vergeten oorlogskinderen ' by Paul De Keulenaer, historian
  • Other comments or details:

    I've been doing this for more than 15 years