On Thursday, Dec. 3, all sophomores were excused from their sixth and seventh hours to watch a presentation from Rachel Miller, a Holocaust survivor. Half of the presentation was spent sharing her story and the other half was spent answering questions from the students.

“It was really intense and interesting,” sophomore Baylee Franzen said. “It made me sad that she had to go through everything that she talked about. I’m really glad that I got to see it though, because it was really cool to hear a story from a different aspect of the Holocaust.”

English teacher Shelly Parks, along with several other English teachers, arranged the presentation because the English II classes are reading the book Night by Elie Wiesel. Night is a true story about Wiesel’s life in concentration camps during the Holocaust.

“We brought Rachel in because FHC had brought her to their building after they finished reading Night, and we wanted to give our students that real-world experience of learning from a Holocaust survivor,” English teacher Jani Wilkens said. “I also think it’s sad to imagine that anyone who survived the Holocaust will soon be gone, so it’s even more important now for these people to be able to share their stories.”

Miller was born in Paris, France before World War II. She was a hidden child during the Holocaust and was brought to America, while her family was sent to concentration camps. In total, she lost 93 family members in the Holocaust.

“I feel like it’s important to tell my story,” Miller said. “That the holocaust actually happened, it’s part of history, and since I witnessed part of the history, I have to speak about it.”