giving back

marching in solidarity

by Rachel Klein

continued from 777

offering respect

teens honor seniors who gave us so much.

W

alk of the Ages presented annually by the Jewish Senior Life of
Metropolitan Detroit Auxiliary is an unforgettable experience.
Its purpose is to support the elders in our Jewish community
and let them know we are there supporting them.
Among the many people participating in the walk, included many
_
Y J y teenagers from 3G and
4G (the third and fourth
generations of Holocaust
survivors) and Frankel
Jewish Academy in West
Bloomfield. Though I
participated with the 3Gs
on the walk, all the young
adults that took part in it
were greatly appreciated
by the seniors.
During the May 23
walk at the Eugene and
3G and 4G members: (back row) Justin Bronstein, Jew-
Marcia Applebaum Jew-
ish Senior Life co-executive director Carol Rosenberg,
ish Community Campus
Anna Eisenberg, 3Gs/4Gs co-chair Nathan Plicowitz,
in West Bloomfield, I be-
Program for Holocaust Survivors and Families director
came aware of how much
Dr. Charles Silow, Mitchell Shecter, Eden Adler; (bottom
happiness our presence
row) Stefanie Rostkier, Erin Rostkier, Ethan Zoldan,
brought the seniors. On
Rachel Klein, Elana Folbe, Jessie Adler, Natalie Bloom
every face, I saw a smile;
a few seniors even thanked us for coming to this event because our pres-
ence meant so much to them.
I personally find it very important to show our seniors that we are there
for them in any way they need. Because they helped build Jewish organi-
zations in the area that we teenagers have the opportunity to participate
in today, our obligation back to them is to participate in these walks and
other events and make it clear how much we appreciate all of their hard
work over the years.
So the next time you are at the Jewish Community Center or around
any Jewish senior citizen buildings, stop in and try talking
to some people. For all they have given to our great Jew-
ish community, we can at least give them a few minutes
of our time.

FJA students Hannah Cohen, Josh

Schostak, Rachel Margolin and Blake

Orman before the March of the Living

began at Auschwitz

tinued as we drove through the deep
forests that surround Treblinka. Stand-
ing in 37 acres of open field where the
average life span was two hours, we felt
pure confusion because there is no evi-
dence or remnants of the 800,000 peo-
ple murdered there. Treblinka, once an
extermination camp, is now a memorial
filled with 17,000 stones to represent the
17,000 cities and towns where people
murdered during the Holocaust origi-
nated. We struggled to visualize how
many people went through the camp in
just one day as the 17,000 rocks in front
of us seemed never ending.
Our imaginations were put to rest on
the very last day in Poland as we walked
through Majdanek, a Nazi camp that
could be up and running in 36 hours,
holding seven original gas chambers

and two crematoriums.
The ultimate contrast in emotion took place when we left the visual horrors
of Majdanek and im-
mediately boarded our
El Al Airlines flight to
the place victims of
the Holocaust only
dreamt about: Israel.
It was as though we
had experienced our
own personal libera-
tion.
The stories heard,
images seen and
thoughts provoked
will stay with us for- Thousands of people walk under the gate at Auschwitz that
ever. We are the last reads in German: "Work makes you free."
generation to witness
the horrors of the Holocaust from survivors themselves. Soon the survivors will
be gone, and it will be up to us to proclaim "Never again."

Rachel Margolin and Blake Orman, pictured above, are recent graduates of Frankel

Jewish Academy in West Bloomfield. They were joined by 10 other Detroit teens: Hannah

Cohen, Jacob !Akin, Matt Weisberg, Josh Schostak, Mla Gordon, Alexa Kline, Lauren Gold-

teen2teen staff •

Teens,

we want you in
the party pages!

hotline: (248) 351-5144 • kcohen@thejewishnews.com

Reporters I Chaviva Bluth, Eryn Fox, Molly Goldmeier, Molly Grossman, Elizabeth Kirshner, Ruthie Lehmann, Avi Mendelson,

Avielle Movsas, Stephanie Schulman, Yona Isaacs (Akiva Hebrew Day School, Southfield); Gabriella Ring, Erica Sachse (Berkley);

Nechama Tawil (Beth Jacob, Oak Park); Teddi Cantor, Alexa Eisenberg, Rachel Gorosh, Emily Katz, Lauren Lewis, Emily Schottenfels,

Sara Smoler, Carly Sternberg, Rachael Vettese, Rachel Wein (Bloomfield Hills Andover); Abby Hyman (Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-

Kingswood); Mad Cohen (Community, Ann Arbor); Emily Zussman (Detroit Country Day, Beverly Hills); Adina Applebaum,

Rachel Brown, Tamar Brown, Carly Cykiert, Hillary Dorman, Polina Fradkin, Emily Goodman, Helene Glickman, Rachel Goutman,

Dan Hacker, Jessica Kahn, Michelle Kappy, Rachel Klein, Atara Lakritz, Rachel Margolin, Andrew Milgrom, Blake Orman, Maddy Solt,

Samantha Zwick (Frankel Jewish Academy, West Bloomfield); Madeleine Gonte, Sara Weinfeld (Hillel, Farmington Hills); Mayer

Let us know when your party is
and we might catch you on film
or send us your pictures at

partypages@thejewishnews.com

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TT4 teen2teen June 17.2010

Schneider (home schooled); Robert Axelrod (Huron, Ann Arbor); Sam Gringlas, Nate Strauss (North Farmington); Rob Pasick (Novi);

Lily Grier, Liza Kohlenberg (Orchard Lake Middle, West Bloomfield); Laura Katsnelson, Liz Nagle (Walled Lake Western); Ben Eilender,

Jennifer Finkel, Bridget Labe, Heather Rosenbaum, Jeremy Sherman (West Bloomfield); Mackenzie Coden (West Bloomfield Walnut Creek)

Photographers I Jessica Polk (Frankel), Colton Graub (Cranbrook-Kingswood )

supervising staff

Chief Operating Officer I E Kevin Browett
Editorial Director I Robert Sklar
Executive Editor I Keri Guten Cohen

f

in West Bloomfield.

stein and Josh Lowenthal, all from FJA; Marisa Horn of West Bloomfield High School; and
Aaron Klisman of North Farmington High School.

IU ' 031g1N 1TSIA

Rachel Klein, 17, is a junior at Frankel Jewish Academy

Creative Director I Deborah Schultz
IT Director Deanna Spivey
Teen Consultant I Jon Layne

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