DECEMBER 21 • 2023 | 49
and found some Yiddish
diaries especially from Vilna
because YIVO was in Vilna
and exported itself to New
York. The organization
collected writings after the
war.
Simon worked at the
Holocaust Memorial
Museum in Washington,
D.C., when she graduated
college in 2001. She started
researching there and added
to that by spending time
at Yad Vashem in Israel
and talking to one of the
archivists at the Jewish
Historical Institute in
Warsaw
“I was able to organize
almost every known Yiddish
diary that has survived,”
said Simon, who earned her
master’s degree in Holocaust
studies at University College
London and emphasizes
that responses of the Jewish
people become the most
important element of what
she teaches in classrooms
and in her writing efforts.
Entering into the classes
taught by Simon are topics
related to Holocaust history,
European Jewish history,
Holocaust narrative,
Holocaust memory in
the United States and
antisemitism. She also has
published a couple of articles,
one about teaching Holocaust
diaries and another about
using diaries as historical
sources.
“The diaries become the
thread that holds a lot of this
together, and this is my first
book,” she said. “I’m working
on two smaller projects right
now. One is anxiety in the
Warsaw Ghetto as related
to my book. The other is on
interdisciplinary approaches
(to my subjects) looking at
perceptions of the allies and
the underground press.”
Simon said that the
personal discipline involved
in finishing her varied
projects involves meeting
deadlines and what she has to
get done by specific dates to
meet her deadlines. Entering
into those considerations are
household commitments that
have to do with her husband,
David, an economist, and
their twin sons.
The family lives in Okemos
and attends Shaarey Zedek
Congregation in East
Lansing. She grew up in
Texas.
As Simon thinks about
the book and schedules
presentations related to her
subject, she calls attention to
a diary passage she especially
respects and quotes toward
the end of her book:
“The most terrible and
unholy, the most destructive
thing for our nervous
system and our health, was
to live day and night in an
atmosphere of unending fear
and terror for our physical
survival.”
TICKETS AVAILABLE
ONLINE ONLY AT:
BigTommysComedyClub.com
Join Us on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31st
, 2023!
BIG TOMMY’S Comedy Club
COMEDY SHOW & DINNER
$80/person (Drinks Not Included)
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND DINNER BUFFET
MAIN DINING AREA
1st Seating 7pm-9pm • $70/person (Drinks, Tax & Tip not included)
EXPERIENCE A 4 COURSE MEAL TO DELIGHT THE HUNGRY SOUL!
2nd Seating 9pm-11pm • $100/person (Drinks, Tax & Tip not included)
A 4 COURSE DINNER YOU'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER!
Includes Champagne Toast & Party Favors
TWO
FLOORS
OF FUN
AND
LAUGHTER!