74862

Fania Fenelon was tatooed with this number.

She survived quite a while in Paris being half Jewish and a celebrated Cabaret singer. Her deportation occured in early 1944 and the liberation of the camp occurs exactly one year later in January of 1945.

http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/focus/auschwitz/

-Corey

The Resistance...

Caitlin asked about the resistance movements at our last rehearsal and this is something you should all be aware of especially if that is your particular characters background. Some of the Aryan members of the orchestra did not land here because of faith, background, or sexual preference. Some, like the poles, were considered racially inferior due to their nationality. Up until 1942, non-Jewish poles were the majority at Aushwitcz. Sometimes they spoke out in actions which got arms to those in the ghettos and camps. Other times they spoke out in newspapers, opinion columns, etc.

Elzvieta in our show has a real dilemna. It didn't work. In her eyes, she tried as a member of the Polish Resistance to get the word out and had hoped that when the leaders of her church found out what was going on, it would come to a quick end. It didn't. They didn't bomb the rails leading to the camps. They didn't bomb the smoke stacks and gas chambers. They waited.

Overall Site on all Resistance movements:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:World_War_II_resistance_movements

Great clip on the Warsaw uprising as the poles try to save themselves from two potential enemies, Communist Russia and Nazi Germany:

http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-71-2311-13521-10/on_this_day/conflict_war/twt

Fania was a member of the French Resistance. Here is a great article from the BBC on Ladies of the French Resistance:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7142424.stm


I would be interested in your thoughts on this.

Today Show Clip on the Holocaust

Interesting short clip from the Today Show on research a Catholic priest is pulling together to help further our understanding of what actually occurred. There are some pretty difficult images in this clip. Thank you to Mrs. Beckman for sending this along.

Paper Clips

I just watched another documentary called "Paper Clips" where a group of middle school students start an after school project for the purpose of remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust. The paper clip was a symbol of silent protest against the Holocaust in Norway. The Norweigans not shipped away would wear paper clips on their lapel. The fear was that an actual protest would land them in a cattle car as well.

In this documentary, the school officials identify a problem in the community. They are all alike. There is no diversity in the student population. The students decide to begin a project of collecting 6 million paper clips to not only remember the 6 million Jews killed during the Holocaust but also to better understand what 6 million looks like. It's a powerful message and supported in the film with survivor interviews, classroom lessons, and liberation footage.

Has anyone ever seen this before?

-Mr. Jackson