SVDP-ALC Studies WW2: Lawrence Keller, Witness to War

In early January as part of our continuing study of World War ll history at our school, we had the honor of having as a guest speaker Mr. Lawrence Keller. At a very young 86 years old, Mr. Keller volunteers as our school carpenter -- he fixed the leg of a school desk and made a much-needed wooden door stop recently. He is also a retired Deacon in the Catholic Church, and he delivers a fine speech. But in 1944-45 he was Corporal Keller with a supply unit in the US Army stationed in Metz, France. In December of 1944 he and his unit helped supply General George S. Patton and the US Third Army as it raced towards the relief of the key town of Bastogne during the famous Battle of the Bulge. (See our December 25th blog post.) Later in the war Mr. Keller and his unit were involved with the guarding of captured Nazi soldiers including members of the dreaded SS, Hitler's elite Nazi troops.

Mr. Keller spoke to our class, and the students were totally fascinated by what he had to say. He told us about the Battle of the Bulge, the Allied invasion on D-Day at Normandy, and about life as a soldier during the war. He told us the brutal truth as he witnessed it during World War 2 of what he saw, and he spoke also about the Holocaust and the US Army's liberation of the concentration camps.

He was a witness to war, and our students will never forget what he told us.

--Adrian

SVDP-ALC Studies World War ll: Holocaust Remembrance Day, The US Army Liberates the Concentration Camps

January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. We at SVDP-ALC have been studying World War 2 history; we went on a field trip to the National World War ll/ D-Day Museum in New Orleans recently. We at SVDP-ALC recognize the historical importance of January 27 with the following three posts: 1. the US Army's liberation of Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps, 2. informatiuon on Holocaust Memorial Day, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum http://www.ushmm.org/ and the Nuremberg Trials, and 3. a memorial letter by Pope John Paul ll recognizing the importance of January 27. (Also see "The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Program" at http://www.un.org/holocaustremembrance/index.shtml )

It is hoped that as we struggle to educate our students about history and about World War ll, that people who know the truth about the Holocaust, or should know the truth, do not deny the truth. It was General Dwight D. Eisenhower himself who ordered, after the camps were liberated by the US Army, that German civilians be marched through the camps to see the countless dead prisoners who were murdered by the Nazis. In this way, no one could deny the truth of these enormous crimes againt humanity.

In some of the photos shown in this post, you will see US Army generals Omar Bradley, George Patton, and General Eisenhower as they tour a concentration camp to see the crimes and the evidence for themselves. In one photo they are shown how prisoneres were beaten and tortured, in another the gallows where prisoners were hanged to death. The photos are in public domain and were taken by the US Army. Also see http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/ for photo credits. Most of the photos are of a place called Ohrdruf which was a sub-camp of Buchenwald Concentration Camp. The cross memorial photo is from Dachau. In the Holocaust 6 million Jews and 5 million non-Jews were murdered. After the war many Nazis were put on trial for their crimes, but some escaped.

--Adrian)

SVDP-ALC Studies WW2: International Holocaust Remembrance Day -- January 27

(The photo is of the Nuremberg Trials after World War ll. Seated are some of the most notorious leaders of Hitler's Third Reich including, in the front row, Hermann Goering and Rudolf Hess. Standing behind the Nazi defendants, guarding them, are US Army military police. At the trials, the horrible truth of the Nazi mass murders was revealed for the world to see. The photo is from Wikipedia Commons and in public domain.)

In our continued study of World War 2 here at SVDP-ALC (and recently our school went on a field trip to the D-Day Museum in New Orleans), we take note of the significance of January 27. This day is recognized as International Holocaust Remembrance Day which coincides with the day the Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated by Russian troops. Auschwitz was the largest and most deadly of all the Nazi concentration camps.

Below is a quote from the website for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/focus/ihrd/comment_post.php

"In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated January 27 as an annual international day of commemoration to honor the victims of the Nazi era. This date marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. Every member nation of the U.N. has an obligation to honor the memory of Holocaust victims and develop educational programs as part of the resolve to help prevent future acts of genocide. The U.N. resolution rejects denial of the Holocaust, and condemns discrimination and violence based on religion or ethnicity."

For much more information about the Holocaust (or Shoah as it is also called), see the website for the USHMM at http://www.ushmm.org/ The museum is a co-operative work between the US government and private organizations.

In the Holocaust approximately 6 million Jews and 5 million persons other than Jews were murdered by the Nazis. After the war many of the Nazi leaders were put on trial for crimes against humanity at Nuremberg in Germany by the Allied powers. However, some of the leading Nazis escaped justice by committing suicide.

-- Adrian

SVDP-ALC Studies WW2: International Holocaust Remembrance Day, A letter by Pope John Paul ll

(At SVDP-ALC we are studying the history of World War ll. Recently, we took a field trip to the D-Day Museum/National WW2 Museum in New Orleans where we also learned more about the Holocaust. Here is a copy of the letter written by Pope John Paul ll on the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi extermination camp in Poland. The Nazis murdered about 6 million Jews and 5 million non-Jews in the Holocaust. Pope John Paul ll bears witness to that fact. Learn more about the Holocaust at the US Holocaust Museum at http://www.ushmm.org/ and at Yad Vashem http://www.yadvashem.org/, the Holocaust museum in Israel.
--Adrian)


ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATIONOF THE PRISONERS OF THE AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU DEATH CAMP


Sixty years have passed since the liberation of the prisoners of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. This anniversary calls us to ponder once again the drama which took place there, the final, tragic outcome of a programme of hatred. In these days we must remember the millions of persons who, through no fault of their own, were forced to endure inhuman suffering and extermination in the gas chambers and ovens. I bow my head before all those who experienced this manifestation of the mysterium iniquitatis.
When, as Pope, I visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in 1979, I halted before the monuments dedicated to the victims. There were inscriptions in many languages: Polish, English, Bulgarian, Romani, Czech, Danish, French, Greek, Hebrew, Yiddish, Spanish, Flemish, Serbo-Croat, German, Norwegian, Russian, Romanian, Hungarian and Italian. All these languages spoke of the victims of Auschwitz: real, yet in many cases completely anonymous men, women and children. I stood somewhat longer before the inscription written in Hebrew. I said: “This inscription invites us to remember the people whose sons and daughters were doomed to total extermination. This people has its origin in Abraham, our father in faith (cf. Rom 4:11-12), as Paul of Tarsus has said. This, the very people that received from God the commandment, ‘You shall not kill,’ itself experienced in a special measure what killing means. No one is permitted to pass by this inscription with indifference.”
Today I repeat those words. No one is permitted to pass by the tragedy of the Shoah. That attempt at the systematic destruction of an entire people falls like a shadow on the history of Europe and the whole world; it is a crime which will for ever darken the history of humanity. May it serve, today and for the future, as a warning: there must be no yielding to ideologies which justify contempt for human dignity on the basis of race, colour, language or religion. I make this appeal to everyone, and particularly to those who would resort, in the name of religion, to acts of oppression and terrorism.
These reflections have remained with me, especially when, during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, the Church celebrated the solemn penitential liturgy in Saint Peter’s, and I journeyed as a pilgrim to the Holy Places and went up to Jerusalem. In Yad Vashem – the memorial to the Shoah – and at the foot of the Western Wall of the Temple I prayed in silence, begging forgiveness and the conversion of hearts.
That day in 1979 I also remember stopping to reflect before two other inscriptions, written in Russian and in Romani. The history of the Soviet Union’s role in that war was complex, yet it must not be forgotten that in it the Russions had the highest number of those who tragically lost their lives. The Roma were also doomed to total extermination in Hitler’s plan. One cannot underestimate the sacrifice of life which was imposed on these, our brothers and sisters in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. For this reason, I insist once more that no one is permitted to pass by those inscriptions with indifference.
Finally I halted before the inscription written in Polish. There I recalled that the experience of Auschwitz represented “yet another stage in the centuries-old struggle of this nation, my nation, for its fundamental rights among the peoples of Europe. Yet another loud cry for the right to have a place of its own on the map of Europe. Yet another painful reckoning with the conscience of humanity”. The statement of this truth was nothing more or less than a call for historical justice for this nation, which had made such great sacrifices in the cause of Europe’s liberation from the infamous Nazi ideology, and which had been sold into slavery to another destructive ideology: that of Soviet Communism. Today I return to those words – without retracting them – in order to thank God that, through the persevering efforts of my countrymen, Poland has taken its proper place on the map of Europe. It is my hope that this tragic historical experience will prove to be a source of mutual spiritual enrichment for all Europeans.
During my visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, I also said that one should halt before every one of the inscriptions. I myself did so, passing in prayerful meditation from one to the next, and commending to the Divine Mercy all the victims from all those nations which experienced the atrocities of the war. I also prayed that, through their intercession, the gift of peace would be granted to our world. I continue to pray unceasingly, trusting that everywhere, in the end, there will prevail respect for the dignity of the human person and for the right of every man and women to seek the truth in freedom, to follow the moral law, to discharge the duties imposed by justice and to lead a fully human life (Cf. JOHN XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 [1963], 295-296).
In speaking of the victims of Auschwitz, I cannot fail to recall that, in the midst of that unspeakable concentration of evil, there were also heroic examples of commitment to good. Certainly there were many persons who were willing, in spiritual freedom, to endure suffering and to show love, not only for their fellow prisoners, but also for their tormentors. Many did so out of love for God and for man; others in the name of the highest spiritual values. Their attitude bore clear witness to a truth which is often expressed in the Bible: even though man is capable of evil, and at times boundless evil, evil itself will never have the last word. In the very abyss of suffering, love can triumph. The witness to this love shown in Auschwitz must never be forgotten. It must never cease to rouse consciences, to resolve conflicts, to inspire the building of peace.
Such, then, is the deepest meaning of this anniversary celebration. We remember the tragic sufferings of the victims not for the sake of reopening painful wounds or of stirring up sentiments of hatred and revenge, but rather in order to honour the dead, to acknowledge historical reality and above all to ensure that those terrible events will serve as a summons for the men and women of today to ever greater responsibility for our common history. Never again, in any part of the world, must others experience what was experienced by these men and women whom we have mourned for sixty years!
To those taking part in the anniversary celebrations I send my greetings, and upon all I invoke the blessings of Almighty God.
From the Vatican, 15 January 2005


JOHN PAUL II

How to Learn and Analyze: Sr. Lory's 4 Questions for Inauguration Day

To help the students organize their thoughts about the Inauguration Day, Sr. Lory used a teaching tool which involves asking four questions. She wrote them on the green poster boad pictured above. (In the second photo, partly showing the sign, is student Jennie Gorden and Sr. Lory.)

The four questions are: 1. What information do you gather about the news (of the inauguration) from your five senses, e.g. see , hear, touch, etc.?

2. How do you feel (emotionally) about the news event?

3. What meaning does the event have for you or to society?

4. What decisions will you make about this event; what will you do about it?

These questions could apply to any event that occurs in the news or for a story from history. Why don't you try it at your school or in your own life and see?

-- Adrian

Civics Lesson: Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009

(The photos are of SVDP-ALC students and staff at Inauguration Day.) At our school last week we observed an international TV news event which occurs once every four years in the USA and which sets our country apart from many other lands around the global -- the orderly and peaceful transfer of power in government based on the will of the people after an election. It was Inaugration Day. Sr. Lory asked the students to write down some of their comments about this event; they did, and we posted 10 of the comments here. The students were asked not to write down their names, just comments. This was a lesson for us all on how well our government works, without regard to one's personal views of politics or party affiliation. From the time of General George Washington until George W. Bush and Barack Obama, we can be thankful that in the USA we have always had presidential elections followed by Inauguration Days.

--Adrian)

Student Comments from SVDP-ALC:

1. This means to me that if you work hard at anything, it is possible. It gives me a lot of inspiration. I can see history in the making!

2. How do I feel this day? The feeling is super. In my opinion I think America needed a change.

3. I feel like it's a wonderful day that God has done it this time in history. It's about time. We the People are one, like God has made us. We are blessed we are here to see this in history.

4. Today is a day I thought I would never see happen in my lifetime... This is God's doing

5. I feel that having a black president will help this country be a better one for ALL people that are in this country.

6. I feel that the spirits of all our ancestors are smiling.

7. How do I feel about today, is that it's good... but I can't see what it's going to do for us, meaning me and my family...

8. Today means to me no more excuses, anything is possibe, anything can be accomplished...

9. I feel that today is a very special day for Barack Obama and his family. He is the first black to become President of the United States.

10. How do I feel about this day? Truly Blessed to witness God's mercy and grace... God Bless America!!

Student Writing: Comments by Aaron Hawthorne on usalearns.org

(Aaron Hawthorne is a student at SVDP-ALC who is presntly using the new computer program at http://www.usalearns.org/ to improve his English vocabulary. Aaron is now a regular contributing writer for our school blog. His next essay will be about his recent trip on a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico. Aaron is in the photo receiving a certificate for academic improvement at a recent school awards program. Next to him is his volunteer tutor, Dr. Kathy Dunlap, MD.

--Adrian)

Comments on usalearns.org

By Aaron Hawthorne

I learn new words on the computer at the website of the US learning center --www.usalearns.org . I like learning new words. It's good to know because it helps me.

Student Writing: Dwana Taylor, "Most Impressive at the D-Day Museum"

(Here is more student writing. This is an essay by Dwana Taylor, a student at SVDP-ALC, about what impressed her most on our school field trip to the National World War ll, D-Day Museum, in New Orleans a few weeks ago. In the photo Dwana is receiving an academic award from Sr. Kathleen.

-- Adrian)

Most Impressed by the National World War ll/D-Day Museum

By Dwana Taylor

I was most impressed with the museum because it explains what our history was all about. The museum shows what happened and how it happened. It also shows the things we didn't know before.

It's amazing how big the U-Boats really are. I also liked the short movies. They showed how it really went. We learned about the women and how they labored while our men were fighting in the service. It was wonderful how the soldiers have it all together. It's amazing.

I would love to go back to the museum. It was a moment back in history that will never be forgotten. All our kids will find out how it was once in history.

I thank God and St. Vincent de Paul -ALC for letting us be a part of this. I've learned a lot.

Student Writing: "Why I Love to Play Billiards" By Edward Brown

(This essay is by a new student writer named Edward Brown. In the photo, you can see him receiving an award for academic achievement from Sr. Kathleen during our Winter Awards Ceremony.

--Adrian)

Why I Love to Play Billiards

By Edward Brown

I love billiards because it is a challenge to me. (Pool and billiards are the same thing.) Pool is part of my income. It helps me to relax my mind, and I love to compete. My level of competition is very intense during [billiards] competitions.

I have played in tournaments around the United States. I won a few, but lost [some] of them. Competing is a lot of fun, but winning is better.

So, these are some of the reasons why I love billiards.

RUBARB and Liz Lichtman, AmeriCorps Member 2007-8

The now well-established connection between RUBARB in the 9th Ward and Literacy*AmeriCorps New Orleans was originally created by one of our AmeriCorps members in 2007-08. Her name is Liz Lichtman. (See her photo from our AmeriCorps retreat in 2007; she's climbing an Alpine obstacle.) Liz, who is originally from New York and came to New Orleans right after Hurricane Katrina, is one of the most interesting people you will ever meet. (She once toured Cambodia by bicycle.)She is always positive and is always trying to make the world we live in a better place. She served in the Peace Corps, and I had the privilege of serving in AmeriCorps with her last year (2007-08).

Although she accomplished many things last year with AmeriCorps, including teaching literacy skills at NOPLAY, one of the things she is most remembered for is her work with RUBARB. Read all about her original project from 2007-08 in AmeriWord, the official newsletter for Literacy*AmeriCorps New Orleans at this link: http://www.literacygno.org/images/americorps/ameriword/february08.pdf

I have many times told our class at SVDP-ALC about RUBARB and the great opportunities they provide there. It is because of Liz, primarily, that AmeriCorps became aware of this volunteer bicycle "shop" and the service it provides to the community which is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. (In fact, in a sense, it is because of Liz that you are now reading about RUBARB on this very blog.) Thanks again, Liz!

-- Adrian

Student Writing -- Marcelle Krivjanick, Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

(Here is another example of our student writing. Today we have a great recipe created by SVDP-ALC student Marcelle Krivjanick for homemade sweet potato pie. This should be really nice for Mardi Gras Season which will come soon here in New Orleans! Marcelle [see photo] is a new student writer here at SVDP-ALC.
-- Adrian)

Cameron’s Homemade Sweet Potato Pie
By Marcelle Krivjanick

Ingredients

1. Two 8" pie shells
2. One can of cream (evaporated milk)
3. Six large sweet potatoes (fresh, not canned)
4. Nutmeg (one teaspoon)
5. Butter (half of a stick)
6. Vanilla extract (teaspoon)
7. Sugar or sugar substitute (about one cup, to taste)
8. Eggs (four)
9. Cinnamon (one or two tablespoons)
10. Baking powder (teaspoon)

How to Cook

OK, peel the potatoes and boil until tender. Drain all water and mash them. (I like to use an electric mixer to make the potatoes creamy. If you don’t have a mixer, use a potato masher until creamy.)
Add one to one and half cups of sugar to taste. Add about one teaspoon of nutmeg. Add one to two tablespoons of cinnamon and about 3 or 4 eggs. Then add ½ can of cream and ½ of a stick of soft butter.
Add one teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Mix all of the ingredients until it is nice and creamy. And last, add one teaspoon of baking powder. Mix well.

Let the pie shells get to room temperature. Add the mix to the pie shells, and let them bake for 30 to 45 minutes at 375 degrees until the pie shells are golden brown around the edges.
Then, it is done. Let it cool for half an hour to an hour. Now enjoy!

RUBARB? What is RUBARB?

Here and below are many photographs and a few stories from our Literacy*AmeriCorps service project with RUBARB in the 9th Ward in New Orleans this past Saturday.

What is RUBARB, and who are the people in these photos? Well, read on and find out...

-- Adrian

Literacy*AmeriCorps Goes To RUBARB -- Sights and Signs

On Saturday, January 10th our Literacy*AmeriCorps group visited RUBARB in the 9th Ward in New Orleans. Here are a few photos of the site and the interesting sights and signs we saw.

Read all about our trip to RUBARB (and what the word stands for) in the five short stories below with pictures.

-- Adrian

P.S. "Be Nice or Leave."

RUBARB and Literacy*AmeriCorps in the 9th Ward

Here are some photos from Saturday's Literacy*AmeriCorps service project at RUBARB (Rusted Up Beyond All Recognition Bikes) in the 9th Ward in New Orleans. We were helping this volunteer bicycle "shop" to repair children's bikes that were ruined in Hurricane Katrina. Some of our Literacy*AmeriCorps members present at either RUBARB or the RUBARB marketplace event included Molly, Kim, Laura, Miriam, Lauren, BJ, Libby, myself, Gibson (our 5 month old, honorary AmeriCorps volunteer) and his dad Owyn and, of course, Sarah. Read all about it in the several RUBARB stories on January 11.

--Adrian

RUBARB, Literacy*AmeriCorps at the Sankofa Market in the Lower Nine

After touring the RUBARB "shop," our AmeriCorps group helped out at the Sankofa Market in the Lower 9th Ward. RUBARB showed children there how to do basic bike repairs. The photos also include our youngest volunteer member of Literacy*AmeriCorps, Gibson Fischer. At the wise old age of five months, he is helping Literacy*AmeriCorps "get things done!" Holding Gibson is his dad, Owyn. Gibson's mother, Sarah, just out of camera range in the photos, is the director of Literacy*AmeriCorps New Orleans.

--Adrian

Literacy*AmeriCorps Goes to RUBARB in the Lower 9th Ward

Our AmeriCorps group toured the shop and later on worked on repairing or "stripping down" some old bikes. ("Stripping a bike" means to take it apart piece by piece for spare parts.) We were joined by two staff volunteer personnel at RUBARB, Carl Prey who is originally from Canada and Lani Bemak who is from Massachusetts. Many volunteer staff members joined RUBARB after seeing the damage done to the 9th Ward from Katrina.

-- Adrian

More on RUBARB -- St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church in the Lower 9

All of these photos, except one, are of St. Mary of the Angels Church Convent/Community Center in the 9th Ward. The shot of the tin shed is RUBARB, across the street from the Convent /Community Center and on the parking lot for the church itself. The school is nearby but still ruined from Katrina. Note the visible signs of Hurricane Katrina still on the convent walls -- the brown lines running horizontally are the water lines where the flood water settled, although it may have been even higher before settling. Also see the peculiar "X" or "O" mark on the wall. This is a Katrina rescue sign. Signs like these were spray painted on each and every house and building in New Orleans after Katrina by rescue crews. The signs are codes for the dates the buildings were searched, who searched them, and what the rescue crews found. Sometimes the crews found nothing or no one. Sometimes they found dead human bodies or dead pet animals. Almost always they found tremendous physical destruction. As you can see, New Orleans is a long way from full recovery since Katrina.

-- Adrian