Glen Lake fifth-graders were quiet - silent actually - for over an hour as they listened to a first-hand account of the Holocaust from survivor Reva Kibort. The great-grandmother of three Glen Lake students, Kibort told the students her harrowing experience living through multiple concentration camps when she was the same age as many of them are now.
At one point Kibort apologized to the students for how hard the stories were to hear but then said “you need to hear this; you need to know this.” She explained how she and her sisters survived in cruel and unsafe conditions, witnessed executions, and lived under constant fear. Kibort attributed her survival, in part, to being with her sisters and the strength of being together.
The camp Kibort was imprisoned in was liberated when she was 11 years old. She explained the aftermath of the Holocaust, including not having a country or adults in her family to return to. She lived in refugee camps and orphanages and made her way to the United States through Ellis Island and eventually to Minnesota.
Hearing the story from a person who experienced the Holocaust was powerful and made the experience personal and real. First-hand accounts of the Holocaust are becoming more rare as those impacted are aging out of being able to tell their stories. Students were joined by many Glen Lake staff members and community members, many who were taping Kibort’s talk.
You can learn more about Kibort’s story at this link.