On Monday, April 21, Holocaust survivor Rose Schindler is scheduled to visit Bonita Vista High (BVH) and educate students about the Holocaust and antisemitism. Behind the organization of this event is senior, Israel Club President and advocate against anti-Semitism Anna Maya.

“The Holocaust is probably one of the most tragic and recent event that has occurred in our history; it’s only been 77 years. The amount of denial and lack of awareness behind it [the Holocaust] is scary,” Maya said.

Shindler was born and raised in Czechoslovakia in 1929. At just 14 years old, she was deported to Auschwitz with her parents, aunt, five sisters and two brothers. By the time she was liberated from Auschwitz, Schindler and her two sisters were the only remaining members of her family, according to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Foundation.

To broadcast Schindler’s visit to the whole BVH student body, teachers will play the BVTV broadcast of Schindler’s visit on their smartboards from 11:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. To be physically present in the gym with Schindler, students must fill out a form that is on a first come first serve basis. Due to COVID-19 protocols, there is a limited number of individuals allowed in the gym.

Following Schindler’s speech, there will be an optional book signing of her autobiography, “Two Who Survive: Keeping Hope Alive While Surviving the Holocaust,” written by M. Lee Conolly. Conolly follows the story of Schindler and her husband through their experiences during the Holocaust.

“I remember when I first got my book there was just chills down my spine seeing her handwriting. What was really nice and sweet of Rose was that she believed in the cause so much, to talk to 2000 plus students, that she didn’t offer a cost to come and speak,” Maya said. “I believe our only way of giving back truly, especially to her and her organization, is to sell those books. To get students, teachers, staff [and] parents interested in purchasing a book as a form of gratification and gratitude for her coming to speak.”

Maya was not alone in planning and preparing for this occasion. Climate and Culture Committee Assistant Principal Esther Wise and Climate and Culture Committee member Jennifer Ekstein were part of BVHs administration who helped Maya organize the event. The committee met on Dec. 2, 2021 and Jan. 27, 2022 to prepare and decide details for Schindler’s visit.

“One of the issues here [at BVH] is that we need to educate students about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism. The ultimate form of anti-Semitism is [the] genocide of an entire people which is really what the Holocaust is symbolic of. It’s the highest hate you can have,” Ekstein said. “This guest speaker is one of the few things to get the ball rolling […] to teach kids what hate can look like and the outcome of it.”

Wise hopes that through this visit students can come together as a community and build relationships. With the rise of hate speech and antisemitic acts at BVH, Wise hopes Schindler’s visit is a positive experience for everyone. She wants to promote the message that BVH is “a safe place for students, staff [members] and the community.”

“This is a historical moment because we don’t have many Holocaust survivors anymore. You can’t deny the truth when you have factual evidence of a person coming and talking [about the Holocaust],” Ekstein said.

Maya’s involvement in advocacy against anti-Semitism began with her entrance to BVH in her freshmen year. According to Maya, inviting Schindler as a guest speaker to BVH is a way to raise awareness about the different forms of hate at BVH.

“It’s weird to understand that this [the Holocaust] happened 77 years ago; this is the age of our grandparents [and/or] great grandparents. We’re most likely the last generation to ever meet a Holocaust survivor or gain a first person perspective of what happened,” Maya said. “We have to take in all that information before it’s gone. It’s up to us to be able to exhibit their legacy and the occurrence of such a tragic event.”