Willow Glen Resident

Education

Photograph by Vicki Thompson

Real Life: Holocaust survivors David and Yetta Kane, whose grandson Charlie Kane is a junior at Willow Glen High School, came to speak to students about their experiences during World War II. The talk was tied into a weeklong discussion in advance placement U.S. history.

Holocaust survivors bring history to teens in high school speeches

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

David Kane's hand shakes as he speaks to a group of 30 Willow Glen High School about his experiences growing up during the Holocaust.

His wife, Yetta, sits quietly besides him, never letting go of his right hand.

"If you go to the thesaurus or even dictionary and look up luckiest man in the world, you will find my picture," says Kane to a class of 90 students from advanced placement and English-language learners U.S. history.

The couple, grandparents of junior Charlie Kane, flew in from their home in Long Beach to share their experiences and put a face on one of the darkest times in world history. This was their third appearance at the high school.

The students sat transfixed as the couple took turns telling their stories.

"In one night, we weren't allowed to go to school, own our businesses or work," David Kane says. "That was more than 60 years ago."

When it was Yetta Kane's turn, her voice shook and tears threatened to spill over with every word.

"I was 8 years old when my world ended," she says. "I lost all my relatives. My family had no money, no shelter, no food. We were denied the dignity of living like human beings."

The horror her family and neighbors went through couldn't be described with words, she adds.

"We were put lower than animals," Yetta Kane says. "Nobody cared. Every day there were fewer and fewer people. Every day was worse than hell."

The Holocaust is studied in the World War II portion of the AP class. This section is a week long, and the speakers make the lessons real.

"I want the students to be more conscious of the events in history that happened," says AP U.S. history teacher Patricia Bolaños. "I want them to have first-hand experience, something that is very different from their textbooks. It's just more powerful coming from a survivor."

The emotion the Kanes expressed gave the textbook stories heart, Bolaños says.

Willow Glen High School junior Erica Vilay agrees.

"Textbooks are dry and flat," the AP student says. "When you watch them as they speak about their experiences, you see their emotions. It's genuine."

Charlie, the grandson, says he has gotten to know many survivors through his father's side of his family, and presentations like these are important.

"Once they're gone, we are the only people left who have heard their stories first-hand," Charlie says. "Without us, those stories are lost."

Charlie's friend and classmate Tyler Heinkel says he isn't particularly interested in history but has waited a long time to talk to a Holocaust survivor.

"It's not so much the story they told, but seeing and feeling their emotions while they talked that was important," Tyler says.

AP student Bao Pham agrees.

"It was great that they came," Bao says. "After that generation is gone, all we will have are books and movies."

The presentations also helped some student re-evaluate their lives.

"The presentation was moving, not the kind of thing you hear every day," says junior AP student Danielle Painter. "It's a personal story. It helped me examine my own life, and how grateful we are to be in America. It makes you appreciate what you have."

The presentation moved some students so much that they decided to collect money to donate to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., as a tribute to their presenters and to donate their gift in David and Yetta Kane's names.