Joanna Bosik, '04

Ferrum College currently offers a class based solely on the Holocaust. This class is team taught each spring and is classified in the college catalog under the Humanities. The class is described in the catalog as "…a multidisciplinary course examining the Holocaust through the perspectives of history, psychology, sociology and social work, art, music, and language and literature" (Ferrum College Catalog 2002-2003, 129). This class can be valued at both 200 and 300 levels and can be taken to earn History, Literature, Psychology, Sociology, Religion, or Spanish credits.

This class uses multi-disciplinary perspectives to connect pre-holocaust, holocaust and post-holocaust time periods. It has attracted many guests who have come to Ferrum to both speak and perform about the holocaust. Dr. Claudia Stevens, performer, and Dr. Tina Strobos, Holocaust rescuer, both visited Ferrum College this semester in order to share their stories.

On Thursday, March 13, 2003, many people gathered in Vaughn Chapel in order to hear the heroic efforts of one woman and her family during the tragic time of the Holocaust. In honor of the Holocaust class, Dr. Tina Strobos shared her story and experiences during this period of history.

Dr. Strobos was born in 1920 in Amsterdam, Holland. She was a medical student and eventually pursued a degree in Neurology and Psychology. Dr. Strobos's grandmother was a rescuer as was her mother. They hid more than 100 Jews while providing them with food, shelter and false documents, such as passports and birth certificates. The Underground, which was the undercover organization, hid and protected about 20,000Jews. This organization consisted of about 200,000 Dutch. Dr. Strobos told of many accounts during her time as a rescuer. "My main objective was to save lives," she told us proudly.

Dr. Strobos was inspired by her grandmother. She could not believe the courage exemplified by her grandmother during this time of fear and injustice. Many women were beaten, killed and raped. Dr. Strobos emphasized that it was very important to remain calm and to never show that you were afraid. "I used very correct German, which impressed the jail men and was able to talk many people out of jail this way", she explained. Her boss of the Underground taught her so that she would be prepared for raids and arrests. Dr. Strobos was arrested each time her house was raided. She said that she trembled, which may have in turn showed a sign of guilt, but once she began talking to the officers it was much easier to see them as human beings and that stopped her trembling.

Although the Strobos family did not have a lot of money, they were able to support themselves and the 100s of people that came through their home. They owned a large house and rented out rooms to friends that traveled. This not only was a source of income but also served as a decoy. Police would come in early in the mornings to raid and they would ask who slept in each bed that was still warm. The Strobos family would reply that each bed was occupied by a traveler who had rented the room the night before. Also, the constant moving of people made it less obvious that their home was a part of the Underground. "We lived a life of poverty but we had it better than most" she tells. "Our maid was in the black-market and was able to get us cheap food and we also received money from the Underground; but this was not our biggest worry, our biggest worry was the terror" says Strobos. The attic of the home served as the hiding place during the day and during the night, the Jews could climb out of the window quickly and run across the courtyard into a house in the back.

Many people risked their lives to be a part of the Underground. Dr. Strobos and her sorority sisters stole passports from pockets and handbags. Dr. Strobos's boss of the Underground went into the City Hall and burned all of the records so that background checks could not be done on the people that were being caught and who had obtained false records. He was caught and killed. As if risking her life, day in and day out, was not enough, Dr. Strobos still wishes that she could've saved more people. "You must start with one person because it is impossible to save the entire world", words followed by tears. This woman is, by far, one of the greatest heroes of her time.

Her lecture in Vaughn Chapel was to discuss the events of the Holocaust but to also show the love that went on amidst all of the hate that was dominating Europe. "I can't believe that in the heart of a civilized Europe that this could've happened" she said. But she is living proof that love did exist in this society and that because of people like her many lives were saved.

On March 27, 2003, Dr. Claudia Stevens performed her very own musical drama "A Table Before Me". She is a concert pianist, classical vocalist and actress and produced this entire one-woman performance. Stevens is a descendant of Holocaust survivors. During World War II, her grandfather, Edmund Sinai and her mother, Hertha Sinai resided in Vienna, Austria. Edmund Sinai owned and operated a tailoring business that was eventually seized by the Nazis. The Sinai home was also seized and used as a Nazi headquarters. This forced the Sinai family onto the streets, where Edmund Sinai died. In honor of the struggle that her family and thousands of family families faced during the Holocaust, Dr. Stevens attempts to reflect the hardships and also the triumphs throughout her dramatic piece. Dr. Stevens not only sings and recites monologues, but also plays the piano. Pieces from Mozart, Schoenberg, Janacek and Sieczynski highlight the mood that Dr. Stevens portrays.

This was Dr. Steven's second time at Ferrum College and Dr. Strobos' first, along with many others that have crossed the stage with a similar goal, not only to educate those of the struggle attributed to the Holocaust, but to also educate those of the triumph.