"Witnesses and Survivors: The Story of the Holocaust," was published in July. About 50 students in the D.C. Everest Oral History Club contributed to the project, which includes hundreds of photographs and interviews with 72 Jewish Holocaust survivors from across the country. At 800 pages, the book is the largest of the 22 books published by the group to date.
The Oral History Club, led by social studies coordinator Paul Aleckson, is open to all D.C. Everest junior and senior high school students interested in history, writing and publishing. The club publishes a book at least once each year, and meets about twice a week to learn about the publishing process. Ryan Eisenman, 17, senior editor-in-chief, said the stories shed light on a dark time in world history.
"Some of it was difficult to hear, but these are important stories we hope to preserve with this book," Eisenman said.
The project began three years ago, when students contacted Jewish museums and organizations across the country to ask for contributors. Club members spent the next two years conducting interviews, collecting photographs and compiling information, and editors put the finishing touches on the book this year.
The group traveled July 31 to Milwaukee's Harry & Rose Sampson Jewish Community Center for a reception honoring those who shared their stories for the project. More than 20 participating survivors from the Milwaukee and Chicago areas attended the reception, where they met their interviewers in person and were presented with a copy of the book.
Club adviser Paul Aleckson, a history teacher at D.C. Everest Senior High School, said students in the group each have a well-defined role. Some students work on the photography end of the project, while others interview contributors or work on editing. One group of students is working on a number of Web-based projects, or webisodes, that document related stories that were not part of the book's publication.
Amy Wasleske, 17, said she is developing information about the Pomeranian Germans, a large group of settlers who fled Germany for Wisconsin in the 1840s, for an upcoming webisode. She traveled to a Pomeranian German festival near Berlin, Wis., in early July to take photos and shoot video.
"We've learned so much along the way, so many stories about people and their lives," Wasleske said. "It's fascinating, really. There's just so much to know."
The webisodes will not be published online until sometime this fall, but the book is available now for $29.95 at Janke Book Store, 505 Third St., Wausau. Eisenman said the group already is working on two new projects: a book profiling veterans and another about the civil rights movement.
"I'm a big fan of the history part of this club. There are a lot of stories to tell, and every project is different," Eisenman said.

Source: wausaudailyherald



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