This blog is reposted from the USC Shoah Foundation’s Impact in Profile
Jason Hensely’s project to interview Kindertransport survivors who were taken in by Christadelphians during World War II began in 2015 with an Echoes and Reflections online professional development program.
In 2014, Hensley, a principal at Christadelphian Heritage School in Simi Valley, California who specializes in teaching about Christianity and the Holocaust, had attended the Belfer National Conference for Educators at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., to learn more about teaching the Holocaust.
Following the conference, one of his instructors, Echoes and Reflections trainer and classroom teacher Jennifer Goss, invited him to participate in a new Echoes and Reflections online professional development course. The course would instruct educators on teaching the Holocaust, utilizing testimony in the classroom, and integrating other primary and secondary sources. At the end of the course, each participant was required to create an original lesson to utilize with students in their classrooms.
“It hit me that in teaching my Holocaust Studies course, we’ve been talking about Christadelpians and the ways in which Christadelphians helped Jewish children, and I thought ‘Ah, this is what we need to look at,’” Hensley said. “It really revolved around this idea of individual stories.”
Christadelphians are a small Christian sect. Hensley estimates that about 250 Jewish children were sheltered by Christadelphians in Britain during World War II.
Hensely searched in IWitness for any mentions of Christadelphians and was surprised to find one testimony, Suse Rosenstock.
“No one has any clue who Christadelphians are, they’re such a small little group. I was blown away to find one video,” Hensley said. “She talked about all her experiences in detail and that was hugely inspiring.”
With his students, Hensley set out to find out as much as he could about Christadelphians and the Kindertransport. They pored through old Christadelphian magazines looking for stories written about the Holocaust during the war and even watched testimony in the Visual History Archive (VHA) while on a field trip to the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.
“The kids started going through the different [museum] exhibits and I went to a computer and searched “Christadelphians,” and found seven videos,” Hensley said. “I started running through the museum telling them all. I think the kids thought I was a little crazy.”
In addition to providing background information about Jewish children’s experiences with Christadelphians, the testimonies in the Visual History Archive also led Hensley directly to survivors themselves and their families. He was able to get in touch with the families of two survivors he watched in the VHA.
So far, Hensely has filmed two interviews with survivors who recount their experiences living with Christadelphian families during the war. He has also written a book, Part of the Family: Christadelphians, the Kindertransport and Rescue from the Holocaust, based on his research.
The project would not have happened if it weren’t for Echoes and Reflections and the professional development course he was invited to participate in, Hensley said. Through Echoes and Reflections, Hensley realized the importance of discovering and sharing the stories of individuals in the Holocaust. And through testimony, Hensley was able to do his own original research and tell stories that in many cases have never been told before.
“I think if you allow it to, Echoes and Reflections will change your life,” Hensley said. “It will give you a whole different perspective on understanding the Holocaust. It will change the way you think about things and, in doing so, change the way you act. It really brings you face to face with survivors and you get to hear what they experienced and you get to be moved by it.”
Jason Hensley, M.A.Ed, is the principal of Christadelphian Heritage School, a small private school in California where he teaches religious studies and a senior-level course on Christianity and the Holocaust.
"Jason Hensley, mwanzilishi wa mradi wa ""Impact in Profile"" wa USC Shoah Foundation, aliandika juu ya tukio la kuuawa kwa watu wa Kindertransport, ambao walipigwa na Christadelphians wakati wa Vita Kuu ya Pili ya Dunia, na kuanzisha mpango wa maendeleo ya kitaaluma ya ""Echoes and Reflections.""" Hensley, mkuu wa shule ya Christadelphian Heritage huko Simi Valley, California, ambaye ni mtaalamu wa kufundisha kuhusu Ukristo na Holocaust, alihudhuria Mkutano wa Kitaifa wa Belfer kwa Walimu katika Jumba la Makumbusho la Holocaust la Marekani huko Washington DC, kujifunza zaidi juu ya kufundisha kuhusu Holocaust. Baada ya mkutano huo, mmoja wa walimu wake, Mkufunzi wa Echoes na Reflections na mwalimu wa darasa Jennifer Goss, alimwalika kushiriki katika kozi mpya ya maendeleo ya kitaaluma ya Echoes na Reflections. Kozi hiyo itawafundisha walimu juu ya kufundisha yale yale ya Holocaust, kutumia ushuhuda katika darasa, na kuunganisha vyanzo vingine vya msingi na vya sekondari. Mwisho wa kozi, kila mshiriki alilazimika kuunda somo la awali la kutumia na wanafunzi katika madarasa yao. "Ilinigusa kwamba katika kufundisha kozi yangu ya Mafunzo ya Holocaust, tumekuwa tukizungumza juu ya Christadelphians na njia ambazo Christadelphians walisaidia watoto wa Kiyahudi, na nilifikiri ""Ah, hii ni nini tunahitaji kuangalia,"" Hensley alisema. " "Hii ilizunguka kabisa wazo hili la hadithi za mtu binafsi". Wakristo wa Christadelphians ni madhehebu madogo ya Kikristo. Hensley anakadiria kwamba watoto wa Kiyahudi wapatao 250 walihifadhiwa na Wakristo wa Christadelphian huko Uingereza wakati wa Vita vya Pili vya Ulimwengu. Hensely alitafuta katika IWitness kwa ajili ya kutaja yoyote ya Christadelphians na alishangaa kupata ushuhuda mmoja, Suse Rosenstock. "Hakuna mtu ana wazo lolote ambao Christadelphians ni, wao ni kama kundi ndogo kidogo. Nilishangazwa sana kupata video moja, <unk> Hensley alisema. "Hii ni moja ya mambo ambayo Hensley aliyaona kuwa ya kuvutia sana, na kwa sababu ya uzoefu wake, aliamua kuwa na uzoefu wa ""Kristadelphians"" na ""Kindertransport.""" Walitazama magazeti ya zamani ya Christadelphian wakitafuta hadithi zilizoandikwa kuhusu yale maangamizi ya Wayahudi wakati wa vita na hata walitazama ushuhuda katika Visual History Archive (VHA) wakati wa safari ya shambani kwenda kwenye Jumba la Makumbusho la Maangamizi ya Wayahudi la Los Angeles. "Watoto walianza kupitia maonyesho tofauti ya [jumba la makumbusho] na nilienda kwenye kompyuta na kutafuta "Christadelphians", na kupata video saba", Hensley alisema. <unk>Nilianza kukimbia kupitia jumba la makumbusho kuwaambia wote. "Hii ni kwa sababu, pamoja na kutoa habari za msingi kuhusu uzoefu wa watoto wa Kiyahudi na Christadelphians, ushuhuda katika Visual History Archive pia ulimwongoza Hensley moja kwa moja kwa waokokaji wenyewe na familia zao. """ Aliweza kuwasiliana na familia za waokokaji wawili aliowaangalia katika VHA. Hensley amewahi kuhoji watu waliopona katika vita vya Christadelphian. Pia ameandika kitabu, Sehemu ya Familia: Christadelphians, Kindertransport na Uokoaji kutoka Holocaust, kulingana na utafiti wake. Mradi huo haungetokea kama haingekuwa kwa Echoes and Reflections na kozi ya maendeleo ya kitaaluma aliyoalikwa kushiriki, Hensley alisema. Kupitia Echoes and Reflections, Hensley alitambua umuhimu wa kugundua na kushiriki hadithi za watu binafsi katika Holocaust. Hensley aliweza kufanya utafiti wake mwenyewe wa awali na kusimulia hadithi ambazo katika visa vingi hazijawahi kuelezwa hapo awali. "Nafikiri ikiwa utairuhusu, Echoes and Reflections itabadilisha maisha yako", Hensley alisema. <unk>Itakupa mtazamo tofauti kabisa juu ya kuelewa Holocaust. Itabadilisha jinsi unavyofikiria mambo na, kwa kufanya hivyo, itabadilisha jinsi unavyofanya. "Kama mtu ambaye anajua jinsi ya kuokoa maisha ya watu, Jason Hensley, M.A.Ed, ni mkuu wa shule ya Christadelphian Heritage, shule ndogo ya kibinafsi huko California, ambapo anafundisha masomo ya kidini na kozi ya kiwango cha juu juu juu ya Ukristo na Holocaust. """