Guest Speaker Shares Family Story of Survival
Barstow parent Jason Camis visited with sixth grade students to share the story of his grandmother’s experiences in Europe during the Holocaust.
Sixth graders have been learning about human tragedies in history class. They read “Refugee” by Alan Gratz as a summer assignment and are currently reading "White Bird" by R.J. Palacio. Both books explore themes of leaving home, survival and rebuilding life after loss.
Camis’ grandmother, Ilse, experienced those themes in her own life. In 1939, at 13 years old, she left her home in Vienna, where she lived with her grandparents, and traveled to England. Ilse was sent to England as part of the Kindertransport, an effort to remove children from Nazi-occupied Europe. Ilse lived in a hostel in northern England for several years before becoming a librarian, joining the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, marrying, and eventually moving to the United States with her family in 1956.
Camis shared memories of traveling to Europe with his grandmother when he was in middle school and noticing her emotional response when visiting familiar cities and landmarks. He described her as having a deeply positive and grateful outlook on life. Despite the hardships she endured as a young teenager, she built a full life and lived to be 97 years old.
Through his presentation, sixth graders gained personal insight and historical context for the period they are studying in class.
