Holocaust survivor shares story for first time ever with Skokie student filmmakers
A Holocaust survivor is sharing her story for the first time in her life with a group of student journalists and filmmakers in Skokie which includes her great-granddaughter.
The students prepped for big interview, learned to handle multiple cameras and now are finishing the edit of a documentary that contains multiple stories from Holocaust survivor.
The Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School has taken on this project for 16 years now. It is deeply personal to these eighth graders.
On Tuesday, which is Holocaust Remembrance Day, they spoke with 87-year-old survivor Cipora Zoberman.
Zoberman has never told her story before.
"I was nine months old when my parents ran away from Zamość to save themselves from when the Nazi attacked Zamość," she said.
It was the first time her great-granddaughter Adella Graber has heard it.
"I'm named after her mom. Her mom's name was Adela," Graber said. "She remembers some things that were like really traumatizing even at like a young age."
The experience was surreal for Zoberman as well.
"It's almost I feel I'm dreaming. It's a dream," she said.
Students spoke to seven Holocaust survivors, including Zoberman. They researched, recorded and edited their testimonies.
With help from professional filmmakers, the interviews will be woven into a documentary.
Over the past two decades, thousands of students from all over the world have helped create more than 850 similar films. They said it's a deeply meaningful project that allows them to connect to their heritage while clearly recognizing the realities of what happened duirn the Holocaust.
"It's important for all the survivors to share their stories so we could keep on like passing it down and so it doesn't get lost," Graber said.
The students are still fine-tuning their edits but the documentary is already in the works. A community screening is planned for March 24.