Monday, April 11, 2011
Period 3 - Gabe Stahl's grandfather
Today, Gabe Stahl introduced you to his grandfather, Kurt Jahoda. Mr. Jahoda spoke about his childhood living in Vienna, Austria during the 1930s when the Nazi's came to power and his escape from them. Mr. Jahoda was on the first Kindertransport (children’s transport) train out of Austria on its way to England and safety. Please share your thoughts about today’s class.
28 comments:
Today’s class was very eye opening because it showed me how the holocaust affected someone that is as close to us as a community in Westborough. Gabe Stahl’s grandfather went through so much, and he was one of the more fortunate children to leave Austria in the first kinder transportation. Getting to hear him speak about all these events and how it personally affected him was a good experience as a Facing History student, and when Mr. Jahoda was talking about revisiting Austria in 1985, I was curious to see his reaction. Even though he went through so much, he still loved the place he lived in, he just hated what the Austrians did.
Watching the recorded film of Gabe's grandfather showed me that you could go about living most of your life without ever knowing something that had happened to one of your family members. Family is very important to every human being and is always the hardest to be separated from. This man talked about how painful and important it was for his family to send him away in order to ensure his freedom in the future. Just imagining being separated from your family is heartbreaking. Especially at such a young age and knowing that you will probably never see them again. When he was telling the details of his experience, he told them as if they had happened only a short time ago. This showed me how this experience for all of the people who were put in this situation will remain with them for their live. I also thought his love for music was very interesting. It is sad he lost his interest and inspiration to continue with something he loved and admired due to this experience he had gone through.
I thought today's class was very informative. It kind of put things into perspective a little more just because Mr. Jahoda was Gabe's grandfather, a Westborough High School peer. It helps make me realize just how many people the Holocaust affected. If Gabe's grandfather wasn't as lucky as he was, Gabe would not even be here today! That alone provokes many thoughts. I was sad to hear that Mr. Jahoda never saw his parents again after he left on the first kinder transport. I felt very lucky to be able to hear Mr. Jahoda's experiences first-hand through the film.
I agree with Nicky's comment. The film made me wonder even more what some of my own ancestors must've gone through during the Armenian Genocide. I also noticed the way Mr. Jahoda was speaking - as if the events had only occurred a short time prior to the interview. This shows how life changing and traumatic it really was.
After watching the video with Kurt Jahoda speaking I realised how quickly something so terrible could happen. It seemed as if Mr. Jahoda's early childhood was pleasent but a few years later he was separated from his family. I never learned about the Kindertransport but hearing what he said about it made me understand just how lucky we are to be living in America at today's age. It's hard to imagine what it would be like to leave your family for so long not knowing if you'd ever see them again. It's a little surprising how many people were affected by the Holocaust in some way, weither personal experience or through family members.
I agree with Natalie. So many people were affected by Hitler and the Holocaust. It's very inspiring to hear the stories of the Jewish men and woman who survived.
i liked what i saw in this film. I never thought that someone in our school would have a grandfather that was part of the holocaust. Let alone one of the kinder children. I felt that today was a very eye opening experience.
I agree with Natalie. Its amazing how inspirational this is. Its was really informational.
I thought that this film of Gabe's grandfather made the events of the Holocaust more personal. An event that occured over seventy years in the past may seem to distant to some people, but I feel as though this interview with Gabe's grandfather made the Holocaust closer to home, as it were. It is occasionally easy to forget how very real the Holocaust actually was, and this film put it in a new perspective. We were allowed to see the beginnings of the Holocaust through the eyes of a man living in Vienna, Austria, at the time. I personally cannot imagine parting with my family at such a young age, and then never seeing them again.
i think that Gabe's grandfather's troy was really moving. it was eye opening to hear what he had to say about his childhood in Vienna but what struck me most was that hadn't his parents sent him away, i don't think Gabe would have been able to share this incredible story with once. Thank you
I agree with Nicky, his story was inspirational. He wet through a lot, but he was still strong through it all. It was also an informational film, because we got to watch an actual survivor of the holocaust speak.
Watching the film of Gabe’s grandfather made me realize how many people were affected by the Holocaust. To know that somebody from Westborough had a relative go through this, it puts things into perspective. The film was sad because of the hardships he faced including being separated from his parents forever. It was also happy because of the fact that he was able to get on a train and was transported to safety where he wouldn’t have to face Hitler and the Nazis.
Viewing the video about Gabe Stahl's grandfather showcased just how widespread the impact of injustice that was occurring in Europe. I think that many students can understand what happened, but not many have known anyone involved with the situation. It is alarming to think that it would have been highly possible for Gabe to not be here today. I agree with Fernando that I was interested to see how Mr. Jahoda reacted when returning to Vienna. Overall, the first person recountance was a valuable life experience for the class.
I agree with Nicky that his passion and interest in music was very interesting. It is sad that he lost this passion as he went through this difficult time and how he was separated from his parents at such a young age.
This film definitely made the Holocaust more personal for me. I never thought I would know someone who would have a family member directly affected by something like this. I believe that every student that takes this course should have the benefit of being able to relate in this way, so personally. It made me realize how fortunate Gabe Stahl’s grandfather was to be able to escape on the first Kinder Transport. I was also a little surprised to hear him say that he went back and visited where he used to live and that he thought about the exact path that he took to escape yet he still had a great love for the place just not the people.
I agree with Nicky and Natalie. I think it is very saddening that Gabe's grandfather lost his inspiration to continue his music and the he never saw his family again. It makes me wonder what I don't know about my ancestors and what they went through. I also feel lucky to have been able to see this film.
The video we watched today of Gabe's grandfather was very informative. So far in this class, we've watched many documentaries, but it was very eye-opening to see that someone in the Westborough community was affected by the holocaust.Mr. Jahoda was very fortunate to be on one of the first trains out of Austria. I agree with Fernando when he said that this film was very eye opening.
I thought that the video that we watched in class was amazing. The video alone was very informative and interesting on it's own, but the fact that it was Gabe's grandfather in the video made it much more incredible. Also, I think that it was very interesting that Gabe's parents had never even heard him talk about his experience as a kinder kid until they saw this video. I am very thankful for Gabe and his family for going out of their way and show this video to our class.
I think it makes sense that people can connect to an individual's story better than a collective. I was also glad to see a success story of the kindertransport, since most humanitarian attempts during the Holocaust were obviously a failure. It was also interesting to hear about the brutality of the Austrians, who in some cases have been portrayed as victims of Nazi expansion.
I thought this film was so great because it featured someone who was related to one of my peers at Westborough High School. I couldn't believe how much Mr. Jahoda and his family went through during the time of the Holocaust. I couldn't even imagine being forced to leave my family to be transported with hundreds of other children to another country. I also really liked how he talked about his passion for music, and found it surprising when Gabe told the class that once Mr. Jahoda arrived in England he didn't really continue his passion. Hearing him talk about his experiences makes me feel so lucky to be so safe living here in America. I also really liked how Mr. Jahoda revisited Austria, and always tried to remember it as the happy place he spent his early childhood years growing up in.
I agree with Andy, I am also very appreciative and grateful that Gabe and the rest of his family would share this video with us! It really made things more personal by showing us just how many people the holocaust had affected. As Natalie said, it is amazing that if Mr. Jahoda hadn't gone on that kinder transport train then Gabe would probably not be here today. Overall this film just made me realize all that I have taken for granted and how lucky I am to feel so safe where we live.
I thought that this particular class was very hard hitting because when I think of the Holocaust, I always think of it as a far off thing that was absolutely horrible but didn't really affect a can only imagine what it must be like to have that be your grandfather. If I were Gabe, I would be very proud of my grandfather because he endured so much.
I agree with Nicky that listening to Mr. Jahoda speak was heart breaking. The idea of being shipped off and never seeing my parents again is so upsetting to me as an 18-year-old, it must have been even worse since he was younger. It showed me the importance of family in hard times.
I really enjoyed today's class with Gabes grandfathers interview. We have been watching films like this all year, however when a classmate tells us the story from his and his family's perspective, it hits you a little harder.
I agree with Nicky that it is very shocking that sometimes you never know something as important as Gabes grandfathers experience.
This class with Gabe sharing the story of his grandfather really allowed us to give us a family perspective on the holocaust and allowed us to see it from a different point of view. Hearing about Gabe's grandfathers parents and their struggles in their home land and how they were consistently faced with more obstacles was really heartbreaking
I agree with natalie's comments and am totally struck by the fact that if it were not for Mr.Jahoda's transportation to safety, Gabe would have not been brought into this world. It is such a strange thing to think about. I also admire the courage that Gabe's family had in order to send their child on the first kindertransport. It really shows the intensity of the situation that Gabe's parents preferred that over staying in Vienna.
I was very happy to see gabe's grandfather speak about the austrian prejudice against the jews. It was very interesting because it humanizes people who suffered and were literally treated like trash. Not only was this a rare oppurtunity, but it opened my eyes even more to the suffering of millions of innocent people.
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