Holocaust Survivor, 93, To Share Memoir, Art With Park Slope Students

BROOKLYN, NY — After surviving the Holocaust, Elly Berkovits Gross, 93, decided to dedicate her life to sharing her story of survival with others — especially children.

"Hopefully if children know the history of the Holocaust, history won't repeat," she told Patch in a written statement. "People, especially children, need to remember the people who died, so that those stories aren't forgotten."

In order to better share her story, Berkovits Gross authored a memoir in 2007 titled "Elly: My True Story of the Holocaust," and made paintings depicting her time in the Auschwitz concentration camp, where she was taken by the Nazis at the age of 15.

"My family and I were taken by cattle car to Auschwitz, and I never saw my mother or brother again," she said.

Berkovits Gross' survival story is the subject of an event Thursday at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, where her paintings will be displayed for the first time on behalf of a group of students — including some sixth graders from M.S. 51 in Park Slope — all of whom read her memoir.

The event, which is being held in honor of Yom Hashoah (a national Holocaust memorial day), will give students the chance to ask Berkovits Gross questions about her book and life — an opportunity that M.S. 51 English teacher Aimee Fournier didn't want to pass up.

"I feel like these kids are some of the lucky few of their age who are going to have a chance to interact with a Holocaust survivor," she told Patch, alluding to the aging population of survivors.

Fournier used to read another Holocaust memoir with eighth grade students but found "Elly: My True Story of the Holocaust" by chance in a Scholastic catalogue. She said the artistic nature of Berkovits Gross' memoir made it easier for her students to internalize.

"It's little vignettes, not really a traditional narrative, and there's poetry at the end, so it felt manageable for sixth graders even though the subject is tough," she said of the memoir.

The English teacher also appreciated teaching a book that presents the Holocaust from a child's perspective.

"Students get a child's point of view, so they can relate to it," Fournier said. "The memoir doesn't tell you everything about the context of the Holocaust or World War II or rely on a whole lot of prior knowledge, it's really the story of what happened to this young girl."

After reading the book in school, Fournier's students wrote questions in response to what they learned, some of which they might be able to ask Berkovits Gross on Thursday.

"Having kids there asking her questions and listening will hopefully let her know she's important and honorable and deserves a lot of credit and admiration," said Fournier, noting that Berkovits Gross doesn't give herself much credit in the memoir.

"I want her to feel how special her work is," said Fournier. "She's trying to get kids to see that violence and persecution and prejudice are all wrong, and I want her to feel important for doing that."

Thursday's event is part of Scholastic's ongoing efforts to uplift Berkovits Gross' memoir. Last year, the publishing company sent 10,000 free copies of the book to classrooms, and this year it is donating an additional 25,600 copies.