Grade 10 Students Hear From Holocaust Scholar

On Wednesday, May 21, the Upper School History Department welcomed WIS grandparent Michael Kurtzig to campus to talk to Grade 10 students about the Holocaust and his family’s connection to it, as the students had recently studied World War II. Mr. Kurtzig began his talk with a quote from the German philosopher Georg Hegel: "The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history." 

After a discussion of the quote’s meaning, Mr. Kurtzig reviewed some important dates with the students, including those significant to his family. For example, the day that Hilter was appointed Chancellor of Germany (January 30, 1933), Mr. Kurtzig’s father stopped smoking “because he could not believe that a mad man came to power in the most modern, the most civilized country in the world: Germany.” He saw a disaster coming.

He also talked about May 8, 1933, when the Nazis burned books that they thought were unacceptable, because most of his grandfather’s books were burned that day. This incident was also when Mr. Kurtzig’s father decided to leave Germany, because he recalled a quote from the German writer Heinrich Heine: "Where they burn books, they will also ultimately burn people."  

Mr. Kurtzig had a wonderful dialogue with the students, asking them questions to test their knowledge and listening to their experiences from visiting the Holocaust Museum and some of the remaining concentration camps in Europe. He also had several items of memorabilia, including Nazi passports and identification papers from his family members, a Star of David that Jews were forced to wear, and badges taken from German soldiers.

We are grateful to Mr. Kurtzig for taking the time to speak to our students and share his personal stories; we are sure they will remember this visit for years to come!