If you haven’t noticed, the West Seattle High School library is currently home to a showcase called Stories Among Us. Created by the Seattle Holocaust Center for Humanity, the exhibit highlights the experiences of local Holocaust survivors, sharing the stories of ten individuals who fought back against prejudice and supremacy.

It was brought to the school with the help of Ms. Dahms, who has worked with the Holocaust center for several years and currently serves on their Educators for Change group. “The idea is to humanize the experience of the Holocaust by showing individual stories and not just focusing on numbers and statistics,” Dahms stated.

The exhibit is an extension of the 10th grade Holocaust curriculum, but it is open to all students and staff. Dahms hopes it inspires viewers to examine harmful messages they observe in their communities or media and reflect on how they respond to them. “I think Holocaust Education is extremely important in examining how acts of hate can lead to institutionalized racism and white supremacy,” She stated. “The Nazis, in fact, learned many of their ideologies from the United States in its implementation of Jim Crow laws in the South and its treatment of Indigenous people as part of Westward Expansion.”

Dahms also hopes the exhibit inspires a deeper interest in history. “I find that when students connect with the stories of the people who lived during the time period they are studying, they become much more interested in the time period. It becomes more real and relatable.”

Often Holocaust education focuses on a single narrative, which minimizes the extent to which it impacted lives and the varied ways in which it did so. By showcasing diverse stories, the exhibit combats this. The ten individuals featured in the exhibit each had vastly different experiences in the war. Some were sent to concentration camps, some fled, some went into hiding, others joined resistance groups or found other ways to rebel against persecution.

Stories of defiance are often overshadowed by stories of tragedy, but the exhibit takes care in showcasing the rebellion often not taught in standard Holocaust education. Though all the survivors featured in the exhibit have passed, through the exhibit, Dahms says, their stories stay alive. “History is full of difficult stories, but in facing the past, we learn more about humanity and ourselves,” said Dahms. “Our elders have a great deal to teach us, so I hope our students let those stories be their teacher.”

The exhibit will be on display until June 9th. If you miss the chance to view it, there is a thorough description of the exhibit’s content on the Holocaust Center for Humanity’s website, as well as other vast resources and information.

To read about the exhibit, visit:
https://holocaustcenterseattle.org/teach/stories-among-us-traveling-exhibit

The Holocaust Center is also offering a chance to join their Student Leadership Board, open to students interested in leadership and Holocaust education. Applications are due in September.

If you are interested, visit the following link:
https://www.holocaustcenterseattle.org/learn/student-leadership-board