Students at Lakeview High School were recently privileged to attend a performance by Judy Sima, an acclaimed storyteller and second generation Holocaust survivor. The project, organized by Lakeview District Librarian Dr. Margaret Lincoln and funded by the Mary Ellen Vanderveer Staff Development Fund through LSEF, was timed to coincide with observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27 – a date set aside by the United Nations for official commemoration of victims of the Nazi regime and for promoting Holocaust education worldwide.Ms. Sima’s presentation blended a talk on “Escape to Freedom – Germany 1941” (the story of Ms. Sima’s own mother, a Holocaust survivor) with an interactive writing workshop. Ms. Sima thoroughly engaged students and provided support for a curriculum unit focusing on implicit bias, dehumanization, and social injustice through the reading of Night by Elie Wiesel. Students expressed their gratitude to Judy Sima through cards and letters, commenting that her family’s firsthand experience kept the realities of the Holocaust atrocities authentic for her audience. Students further wrote to Ms. Sima: “Your ability to take us back in time through your storytelling was much more impactful than any of the films and novels that we have completed in class. It is important not to forget what happened and to acknowledge the lifelong effect it has had on our world. Your visit was a memorable experience because many students face discrimination and this has inspired us all to do better.”