Compelling Compassion Through Storytelling

Around 78 years ago, one of the world’s worst genocidal massacres began. Characterized by the slaughter of over eleven million innocent people, the Holocaust is an event that is not easily forgotten. Dr. Fred Kader, a Holocaust survivor, recently visited MN to share his experiences and educate MN on the more personal, compassionate side to surviving the horrific years through storytelling.

Kader, an Omaha pediatric neurologist, was born in Belgium in 1938. For the first 52 years of his life, he lived without any knowledge of his youth. As an orphan with no remaining family members to pass on any knowledge of his early childhood, Kader had to discover his past by himself.

“Because I was so young, I couldn’t remember much of what was going on around me. It took me pretty much 50 years to get even close to finding out my past,” Kader said.

Storytelling is the interactive art of using words and actions to share experiences. Storytelling is critical to human relationships to be able to empathize with the other person. However, storytelling is becoming a dying art form. While learning about the Holocaust is educational in the history and social studies aspects, an often overlooked subject the Holocaust deals with is literature.

Even though social studies department head Dave Diehl confirmed the speaker, he contended that the Institute of Holocaust Education (IHE) was the organization that reached out and continues to promote the importance of Holocaust education.

“There are fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors around, so it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. There are so many valuable lessons that learning about the Holocaust can teach, the main one being that these people that lived through the Holocaust are human beings, not statistics. It is important to remember that first and foremost,” Diehl said.

When in a social studies class, it is difficult to view every number presented regarding deaths as human beings, many MN educators believe that compassionate views are what is desperately needed.

“Millard believes in understand and respecing diversity and growth. We don’t have those opportunities if we don’t bring speakers like Dr. Kader in. Even in a large district, it is important to bring experts in every walk of life to share their stories,” Cobb said.

Although his life was not easy, Dr. Kader’s openness about his childhood is a valuable experience that benefited many students and staff members and continues to spark compassion in them. The story told is anything but boring.