EYE-WITNESS TO HISTORY SPEAKERS – INTRODUCTION
Dear Educator,
In 2010 I wrote a memoir about my life as Jewish child in '30's Germany and our escape to the U.S. Since then, I've been speaking in middle and high schools. Often after one of my talks, a student will say something like, "You're a lot better than a book."
This website was developed to introduce you to volunteer speakers who have lived through history. We'd like to speak to your students when our stories fit into your curriculum. Check us out. We're original sources, and we're a lot better than books!
To contact individual speakers, please send them an e-mail. If you'd like information about the website, please contact ruthgasten@sbcglobal.net.
Warm regards,
Ruth Stern Gasten
Ruth Stern Gasten –JEWISH GIRL LIVED WITH FEAR IN ‘30’S GERMANY- ruthgasten@sbcglobal.net
Ruth Stern Gasten was born in a tiny town in Germany in 1933, the year Hitler rose to power. She speaks of the rise of anti-Jewish edicts by the ruling Nazis, her father being taken to a concentration camp, and the family’s escape to the United States in 1939. Ruth’s experiences as a poor immigrant child in Chicago are the second part of her story. Today’s immigrant children easily relate to her experiences of culture shock and being bullied. Her story is appropriate for middle and high school students when they are studying about the Holocaust.
Ferial Masry - Saudi Woman Runs for Office in America - ferialmasry5@gmail.com
Mecca, my birthplace, was a wonderland to me when I was a young girl. This special, wonderful city is the home of the Islamic religion. Every year, for many thousands of years, Muslims from all over the globe come to make pilgrimages. As a girl, I visualized them as if I were standing on the shore of a great ocean. These masses of men and women were like ocean waves crashing to the shore where I stood. They brought with them diverse languages, exotic spices and, also, kindness. They could accommodate my little girl pranks that normally upset conservation local Meccans. I loved the hajj season, when in that excitement of so many newcomers, the city became alive day and night. And, more importantly, my father would be too busy to chase after me to make me go to sleep early or be home early. Mecca became a childhood wonderland.
I ran for a seat in the California state Assembly as the Democratic candidate, in a spectacular 2004 write-in campaign, unprecedented in California. I garnered local, national, and international attention for my outstanding achievements and unique background. I am recognized as someone who is trying to break new ground -- and break down barriers. I have been an inspiration to people from all background as I pursue public office in California. Author of the book "Running for all the Right Reasons." I was person of the week. ABC News.
Helen Federman Resnick - JEWISH GIRL SURVIVED HOLOCAUST HIDDEN BY RIGHTEOUS CHRISTIANS-helen@cloadlink.com
i was born in Paris in 1935. The Germans marched into Paris in November 1940 and immediately started to arrest Jews to send them
to concentration camps. We lived in constant fear. With false papers and under great danger, my family escaped to Avignon, in
the south of France, which was not yet occupied. Unfortunately, that region became occupied by the Nazis in 1942, and we then had to
look for places to hide. My brother and I were send to a small, very isolated village, far from civilization. We were hidden in farms, by
people who risked their lives to hide us because their pastor had asked, and because they thought it was the right thing to do. My
parents also survived hidden in a cellar outside of Avignon. We were all grateful to be able to come to the United States in 1949.
Margaret Zhao – LIFE IN MAO’S CULTURAL REVOLUTION –margaretreally@gmail.com
Margaret Zhao, born in rural China, was unjustly branded an Enemy of the State from birth for the crime of “affluence” along with her entire family. Under the laws of Chairman Mao’s oppressive communist regime, she was prohibited from attending school beyond the
3rd grade. Against all odds Margaret passed China’s National College Entrance Exam at twenty-one years old and became a high
school teacher. Margaret Zhao immigrated to USA in 1989. She is a very inspirational speaker. Her natural sense of humor captivates
her audiences of all ages. Margaret with her co-author, Kathleen Martens has captured her story in the award winning memoir, Really Enough: A True Story of Tyranny, Courage and Comedy.
Susan Mayall –YOUNG GIRL IN GREAT BRITAIN LIVED THROUGH BOMBING AND LOSS OF FATHER IN WAR-susan@mayall.com
I grew up in England during World War II. I was six when it started, twelve when it ended; but one doesn’t forget the experiences of war. My father was a Royal Marine officer. He died in 1941 when his ship was torpedoed in the Mediterranean by an Italian submarine. My mother was left with four small children – I was eight and the eldest. My baby sister was only six months. We were being heavily bombed at the time. I remember the horrible sound of bombs whistling down, and the way the house shook. One night an incendiary bomb landed in our yard. Luckily, all it did was burn up my sister’s diapers hanging on the line. My mother and I had a narrow escape when the shoe shop we’d been in just a few minutes before was destroyed by a bomb. We survived strict rationing, travel restrictions, air raids, and even helped in the war effort. And when the American GIs appeared in 1944 to prepare for D Day, we welcomed them—especially their candy.
Mony Nop –BOY SURVIVED CAMBODIAN KILLING FIELDS- mony@monynop.com
Mony Nop was born in Battambang, Cambodia in 1972, during the Pol Pot regime and the reign of terror by the Khmer Rouge. He speaks about his memories of the Khmer Rouge, his walk from Cambodia to Thailand at 6 years old, his 4-year stay in various refugee camps, and his escape to the United States in 1983. Mony shares his experiences about beginning a new chapter in a new country and new culture and what it took to overcome so very many hurdles in order to be successful. Mony's message is to take nothing for granted, appreciate all that you have, and be willing to work very hard to achieve your dreams. His story is appropriate for middle school and high school students.
