Marion Blumenthal Lazan, author and speaker, recently visited Lincoln/Roosevelt School. Mrs. Lazan has spoken to and with over 100,000 students and adults in schools, churches, synagogues and civic organizations across the United States, as well as in Germany and Israel.
Mrs. Lazan, co-author of Four Perfect Pebbles, gave a moving first-had account of the Blumenthal family’s life from the events preceding Kristallnacht to imprisonment in concentration camps to liberation in April of 1945. Mrs. Lazan was 11 years old when the family finally gained its freedom.
She related to both the children and adults in Lincoln/Roosevelt School, describing her ordeal in such a manner that the audience was quickly drawn into the drama. The audience was eyewitness to Mrs. Lazan’s history. The story she presented would have been the story that Anne Frank would have told had she lived – life in the camps, liberation, and finally, starting life anew. Mrs. Lazan’s story was one of perseverance, determination, faith and above all, hope.
Mrs. Lazan’s mission is to speak to as many people as possible so they hear the story from a Holocaust survivor. Her presentation went beyond facts; she applied the lessons learned to society today.
She asked the students of Lincoln/Roosevelt to be tolerant of others and to not stereotype individuals based upon religious belief, race, color or national origin. She stressed the importance of positive thinking, as well as creativity and inner strength when working to overcome adversity.