Year 10 History at the Sydney Jewish Museum

Eye opening experiences, personal first accounts and a new perspective on humanity.

The primary purpose of our visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum was to deepen our understanding of antisemitism and the Holocaust - one of history’s most devastating antisemitic events. 

As Year 10 explored and interacted with the past, we were able to analyse primary sources that clearly demonstrated such anti-semetic attitudes. We saw the yellow ‘Star of David’ that was pinned to the uniforms of the Jewish population during the Holocaust.

Year 10 was also able to meet a survivor of the Holocaust,  George Sternfeld. He was able to tell us the story of his flight to freedom. He explained that his parents who were initially separated by borders, and the Nazi’s occupation of Poland eventually found each other, and as refugees migrated to Russia, and eventually made their way to Australia. 

George explained that after his experiences at the hands of the Nazi’s, he was able to find kindness and hope in Australia. He went on to tell Year 10 about his book ‘Chocolate and ANZAC Biscuits’, which recalls these events. George had left us with a powerful message too - he stressed that the only race is the human race.

This excursion allowed Year 10 to be immersed in history. We not only looked at the facts and figures, but human stories of those who were victims and survived. Our experiences at the Sydney Jewish Museum truly impacted us and enhanced our understanding of the past. 

- Carolina J -