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November 13, 2007

Holocaust history

Performance focuses on Anne Frank and Jewish community during World War II

Alexander Cain

Oak Hill Middle School eighth-grader Granges Harpe left school on Tuesday afternoon knowing much more about the Holocaust than he did before he came to school that morning.

Granges was one of more than 800 students at Oak Hill that witnessed a performance of “Through The Eyes of a Friend,” a one-person play narrated from the perspective of a fictional best friend of Holocaust victim Anne Frank. The show was brought to Milledgeville by New-York based theater group Living Voices.

“It was very informative. I learned a lot about it, and it makes me want to read her diary now,” Granges said.

“Through the Eyes of a Friend” follows “Sarah,” a composite character inspired by “the experiences and testimonies of many individuals who knew Anne Frank at certain points in her life as well as those young people who experienced the Holocaust throughout Europe,” the Living Voices Web site states.

In addition to Oak Hill Middle School, a performance also took place at Georgia College & State University and two took place at Georgia Military College.

For actress Ashley Adler, who performed in the one-woman play, the show is a reminder about the atrocities committed during World War II and the difficulties and death that became a daily sight to much of the Jewish community.

“I had hoped it would have opened their eyes on genocide and World War II. I think it’s making them think just a bit,” Adler said.

There was certainly a lot of thinking over at GCSU after the performance, where many students had an opportunity to ask Adler questions about her experiences performing the play and the preparations she went through before becoming involved in such an emotional production.

Although English major and GCSU junior Jenny Pickett didn’t ask any questions, like many of the audience she seemed to grasp the concepts behind the production.

“It did make me think. I think the show did what it was intended to do,” Pickett said. “I think there was definitely an emotional impact on the audience.”

That’s precisely what Maxine Goldstein, a member of the Jewish community and one of the sponsors behind the production, was hoping to hear.

“I hope you bring something away from this with you,” Goldstein said as she addressed the GCSU audience. “The purpose of bringing it to the schools is to educate the children about the Holocaust. It’s all about education and remembrance.”

If the questions from Oak Hill students to Adler are any indication, the performances could be considered a success.

“It’s been going well. The kids are really showing respect and it seems to be having an effect on them. One question I got was about Hitler and why didn’t he want people to look a certain way,” Adler said.

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