Wow – what an amazing program- Jennifer Rudick Zunikoff and Deborah Fripp crafted an amazing journey through a granddaughter’s Holocaust recounting of family love, resilience, determination, and a gift of appreciation between generations. And the experience didn’t stop there. I’m in awe of the steps taken for appreciation, learning, sharing and imagining. I’m intrigued for more.

I didn’t know how serious the situation was for the people living there, as I mostly just learned about the facts or the big picture, not the stories of specific people who had to go through that event.

Something I learned about was how, in ghettos, Jews risked their lives to preserve their culture and teach, making children there happier. Their is a great focus on Jewish suffering when teaching the Holocaust, and Dr. Fripp’s inclusion of a story that involved joy was very important. It helped me reevaluate my view of how Jewish children in ghettos felt.

Honestly I felt like I was inside the story experiencing what the person was going through.

Oh my, there was a moment of striking oral history, ancestral traditions, ancestral connection as I heard my first “Their Stories, Our Voices” through Teach the Shoah. Time folded in on itself and honoring the living experience of a person came to the forefront.

I would 100% recommend her because she was able to captivate us and tell us stories that are relevant to what we are learning.

What you have created is such a precious gem. We are all so blessed to have this sacred space.

Dr. Fripp is a passionate person with a kind heart and whatever she talks about is still useful to know today and hence, people should pay attention while listening to her stories.

Dr. Fripp and Ms. Neff-Helms created something truly moving, a ritual that fully conveys the true terror, yet proves in the end to be both empowering and ennobling. A remarkable evening.

Deborah Fripp’s presentation to our adult Introduction to Judaism class was an excellent way to introduce the topics of antisemitism and the Shoah to a group of adult learners with relatively little knowledge about the Shoah. She made the topics relatable and understandable for learners from diverse backgrounds, many of whom were brand-new to learning about Judaism, and came from a variety of educational backgrounds with regards to prior knowledge about the Shoah. Deborah’s presentation reached both head and heart, connecting the lessons of the Shoah to the realities of the present-day, using stories and images to engage students. Partnering with her in the weeks leading up to and following the class was a joy, as she always asked thoughtful questions about who the learners were, what questions and background they already had, and she was eager to customize her presentation to meet the educational needs of the class.

I have had the privilege of working with Deborah Fripp from Teach The Shoah.  I participated in the program during my tenure as Director of Education at the Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre.

The program teaches participants the skills to engage with the personal stories of those who survived the Shoah and those who did not.  This engagement gives docents and teachers the opportunity to share the lives of those who went through the Holocaust in “snapshot” moments. The stories are intended to open a window onto a life, share a moment of a life and convey the visitor to that moment. It allows the visitor to the museum to meet the human beings behind the numbers.

My experience learning this storytelling technique has been invaluable, it has changed the way I approach the exhibition and I have seen changes in the way the visitors respond to the exhibition.

Jennifer Rudick Zunikoff, master storyteller, is extremely generous in sharing her craft. My experience with her was in many ways life changing as she helped me discover the ability to share stories with others in a respectful and honest way.

I would recommend this program to all museums that teach a difficult and dark history. So often individual stories get lost in the attempt to teach the vastness of what happened, but it happened to individuals and it is vital that we remember them respectfully.  This is what Teach the Shoah does.

I like how they told the stories in a way that felt very personal. Before Dr. Fripp’s visit, the Holocaust felt like a terrible historical event that we were researching in class. I didn’t really understand it on a more personal level. After Dr. Fripp’s visit, I had a better understanding of how the people felt.

Good liturgy bends time. It has a way of taking the past and bringing it into the now, connecting us generationally. It takes you to your descendants and brings your ancestors to you. You really captured that.

I have been reflecting on the work that I have been doing with Jennifer over the last now several years – telling what has become my mother’s and my Holocaust Survival story including and her journey on the ill-fated MS St. Louis. As you know, my sister and grew up as first-generation Americans. We were born into a small German Jewish Congregation in Philadelphia; my father was one of the founders. In our Jewish world, many had numbers burned into their arms, the parents of our peers had experiences that were far worse than my mother and father. We were surrounded by people of extraordinary circumstance and were told the “story” very early in our lives. As G2’s, we lived in the shadow of the Holocaust, simply having to imagine the terror while unable to fix mom’s circumstance. My father rarely spoke of his experience.

The story that I tell has always been difficult for me. Jennifer Zunikoff is the person that unlocked the door and gave me a way to tell the story thus honoring my mother and educating others with a gentle yet defined process. The first time I told it with Jennifer’s expert instruction and support, I cried all the way through. It takes great skill to help work around the emotion created by my history. Jennifer works alongside, gently bringing out the story, helping me find my way through the difficulties created by my memories. Her process is organized and non-threatening. In fact, Jennifer makes space for anyone, everyone to be that person with a story to tell and she teaches those processes that make one’s story come alive. Her generosity of mind, spirit, and time is boundless….and quite remarkable. Jennifer is a warrior and to me, quite the hero.

I simply could not, in this testimony, give you a feeling for the depth of gratitude I have for your bringing Jennifer into my life and the lives of so many to enable us to be Storytellers Of the Holocaust. Thank you.

Working with Teach The Shoah has showed me the value of my family’s stories. They have helped me develop the narratives in meaningful ways and have given me the confidence to tell my stories that might never have been heard otherwise.

Dr. Fripp told real stories of the Holocaust with some background information of the person in first person. The first-person storytelling helped me connect and relate to the person and understand a bit more of what they went through and what was going through their minds over the years of the Holocaust through stories.

This is beneficial because it helps you learn in a way that you cannot by reading articles.

The Flower Mound Public Library has collaborated with Teach the Shoah for several years to bring programs to our community in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Their leadership team and presenters are experienced, knowledgeable, and an absolute joy to work with. These touching remembrance ceremonies enable people of all backgrounds to hear the powerful stories of those whose lives were changed forever by the Holocaust. Teach the Shoah is a valuable asset to our community, and we are grateful for their dedication to ensuring that these stories are not forgotten. We hope to continue partnering with them to bring high-quality, educational programs to the Library for years to come.

The stories that she told gave me lots of insight on what it might have been like to experience the Holocaust first person, and the delivery was done in such a way that I could feel the emotions, unlike when I read articles.

I learned just how horrible the experience actually was. I mean we all read books and accounts of survivors from the Holocaust, but we usually never actually see someone act in that situation. I think it was a great change to see Esther and Dr. Fripp act out some of the people because it felt like we were getting a key into a vault to see what it actually felt like first-hand for people who were going through the situation. Esther and Dr. Fripp actually performing for the class gave it that final touch that you can’t get through a screen.