Holocaust Survivor Speaks to 8th Graders
March 29, 2019
West Central 8th graders recently had the privilege of listening to the story of a Holocaust survivor via Skype. Simone Arnold LIebster was born in France in 1930. When she was 11, she refused to give the Hitler salute or sing Nazi songs. After several patriotic teachers confronted, ridiculed, expelled, and even knocked her unconscious, Simone was arrested by juvenile authorities, taken to Germany, and put in a Nazi penitentiary home. For nearly two years, Simone was forbidden to talk and was forced to do hard labor. Both her parents by this time had been imprisoned in Nazi camps, and none expected to live to see the family reunited. The end of the war arrived, though, and the Arnolds all returned home and rebuilt their lives. Simone’s book, Facing the Lion, is her memoir of growing up in Nazi Europe. She kept the students enthralled with her amazing story of bravery. What an inspiration to all!
