Deborah Fripp, at The Blogs

Feb 20, 2024, 11:05 AM

By guest blogger Dr. Mehak Burza In the intricate tapestry of life, our journey often takes unexpected turns, leading us down paths we never imagined traversing. For me, this journey began in the realm of science, where the empirical and...

Nov 3, 2022, 3:50 PM

Broken Glass, Preserved Memory

Please don’t let them find out I’m Jewish. Please don’t let them find out I’m Jewish. It is November 10, 1938, and Margot Gunther (Jeremias) is riding the train to school. It’s an hour ride from her home in Hoffenheim,...

Jan 17, 2022, 10:21 AM

When it’s an attack on your own community

(Congregation Kol Ami, used with permission)

I awoke on Sunday morning in Singapore to the news that another synagogue was under attack. The rabbi and several congregants of a synagogue in Texas were being held hostage by an unknown assailant. An old story, a repeated...

Nov 17, 2021, 11:32 AM

How to Teach Race Relations: Lessons from Holocaust Education

A group of 7th graders sit in a circle, white kids in the center, black and brown kids on the outside. They have been sorted by a “privilege” score assigned based on the color of their skin. The white...

Oct 22, 2021, 10:47 AM

How to deal with antisemitism in our schools

“Never ascribe to malice what can be explained by ignorance, confusion, or ineptitude.” This statement was made by Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis in response to a disturbing incident that happened in Texas last week. In a teacher training in Southlake, a...

Oct 12, 2021, 3:05 PM

Changing Times, Changing Celebrations

Sometimes it takes the wrong holiday to get us to the right one. On October 8, President Biden issued a proclamation declaring October 11, 2021 to be Indigenous People’s Day. “Our country was conceived on a promise of equality and opportunity...

Sep 30, 2021, 12:19 PM

Stand at the Water Gate with Me

Our ancestors have always moved into the unknown. Their strength and stories help us as we move and grow. Consider a sunny Rosh Hashanah morning, 2500 years ago. Before the ruins of the First Temple, the men and women of...

Aug 27, 2020, 8:44 PM

Holocaust Education for Our Modern Conversation

Twenty minutes. That’s how much time I have to teach a group of white, Christian, Texan women about the Holocaust. One message – that’s all I’ll get. If you had time to pass along one message about the Holocaust,...

Jun 5, 2020, 5:20 PM

Never Again Means Not Now: Looking Inward Edition

Anger. Sadness. Fear. Recognition. I would not presume to speak for the community of color. But these are some of the things I would be feeling if this were happening to the Jewish community. Outrage that these things could happen...

May 21, 2020, 8:00 PM

Teaching the Holocaust through Story

How do we even begin to understand the experience of the Holocaust? How do we give our students insight into something we can barely comprehend? “Sh’ma koleinu, Adonai, Hear our voice, O God.” Jews worldwide have prayed this daily for...

About Me

Dr. Deborah Fripp is the president of the Teach the Shoah Foundation. Her website (www.TeachTheShoah.org) provides resources on commemorating, teaching, and understanding the Holocaust for communities, families, and educators. You can sign up to hear about her new blogs at www.teachtheshoah.org/subscribe.