Holocaust Survivor, Mr. Charles Stevens, Visits The Erdkinder Classroom

This last Monday, April 28, was Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Today, the Erdkinder and a small group of the EC students, were incredibly lucky to meet Mr. Charles Stevens. Mr. Stevens survived the Holocaust of WWII by being hidden in a series of Belgian orphanages by both Protestants and Catholics. His parents left him and his sister, Lily, in a Catholic convent and told them not to tell anyone that they were Jewish.

Charles's parents were able to get out of Europe and they made it to a refugee camp in Upper New York State. They had no idea if their children were alive or not until after the war, when an American soldier visited the convent and then returned to the U.S. with information regarding children left there.

After the end of the war, Charles and his sister were reunited with their parents. They then made a live for themselves on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Our time with Mr. Stevens was very fascinating. We got to ask a lot of questions about what life was like for him as a "hidden child" during the war, and what happened to his family. As we have only recently finished reading The Diary of Anne Frank, meeting Mr. Stevens gave us a whole new perspective on the turbulent history of Europe in the 20th century.

The Erdkinder students