^ Beautiful city-scape in Poland

NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. by: Cecelia Harmon (RVO) – On September 12th, Dr. Joseph Harmon, a Redbank teacher, will be hosting a “Photo tour through Poland”. This event is free to the public and will take place at Redbank Valley High School at 7 pm. While everyone is invited, the topic centers around the atrocities committed in Poland during the Holocaust; Dr. Harmon warns that this sensitive topic may not be appropriate for young children:

“My presentation consists of photos and descriptions of what I saw and learned. It is filled with locations were hundreds of thousands were murdered and oftentimes buried in mass graves.”

^Some of the participating teachers holding photos

Dr. Harmon has been the 8th grade Civics teacher at RVHS for 15 years. In recent years, he has started a Holocaust history elective class that 11th graders can take for a semester. He pitched the idea of a Holocaust class to school principal, Mrs. Amy Rupp in response to PA Schools Code Act 70 which makes Holocaust education a requirement in secondary schools.

^Project Director of Yad Vashem sharing her expertise

In July, Dr. Harmon (or as I like to call him, Daddy) was one of 20 teachers selected by Echoes and Reflections and Yad Vashem to have the opportunity to spend a week in Poland for an educational tour of ground zero of one of the greatest evils committed by mankind. Echoes and Reflections is the leading Holocaust education resource for teachers in American schools. The tour guide was the project director for Yad Vashem; she is also the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. On his trip, he visited the locations of the Warsaw Ghetto, Treblinka, the Lodz Ghetto, Kelmo, Schindler’s factory, Auschwitz, and many other sites of unspeakable depravity and sin.

^Rocks have important symbolism in the Jewish culture

Later this year, Dr. Harmon plans to take a bus to Washington D.C. so that students can visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum. This trip would be open to any student who has taken the class, current students, and students who would be taking the class next year. Dr. Harmon has aspirations of making this a biannual pilgrimage. He is asking for donations to make this happen.

^ Dr. Joe Harmon leaving a rock taken from the Redbank

“While it is a free presentation, I am taking donations to fund a coach bus trip to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C.  While I can teach students in class, and they can read or watch about it in books or film, the D.C. museum offers a unique and powerful experience for students to experience. My experience traveling through Poland and going to such places of tragedy and horror was life-changing – it was the most powerful and unique experience I have ever been a part of. While I cannot take my students to Poland, I do have the power to take them to D.C.”

For more information and details about the event, please read the Facebook event page:
https://bit.ly/2LBQWgx

THANK YOU:
To Dr. Joseph Harmon for seizing this opportunity and being willing to share his knowledge with the Redbank Valley community.