Cold Spring Harbor Jr./Sr. High School students are preserving history by participating in Names, Not Numbers, an oral history film project that gives students the opportunity to interview Holocaust survivors and upholding their experiences through documentary filmmaking. The school launched the program with an introductory training session on Oct. 28.
Created by award-winning educator Tova Fish-Rosenberg, Names, Not Numbers connects students with Holocaust survivors and World War II veterans who liberated concentration camps. Through firsthand conversations, students explore stories of loss, resilience and hope while helping preserve these accounts for future generations. The program came to Cold Spring Harbor largely through the initiative and persistence of its students.
“The opportunity to sit with someone who experienced the Holocaust firsthand is becoming increasingly rare,” Principal Daniel Danbusky said. “And we are approaching a moment when students will no longer have the same opportunity to look into a survivor’s eyes, hear their voice, and ask them what happened in their own words.”
During the training session, students worked with Names, Not Numbers representative Jeff Salgo, a former CBS television producer and director with 35 years of experience. Salgo introduced interviewing techniques centered on research, history and empathy, emphasizing preparation, active listening and building trust when discussing sensitive experiences. Professional filmmaker Michael Puro introduced students to the filmmaking process and the equipment they will use.
Students also watched excerpts from “Searching for Sosúa,” a documentary featuring Holocaust survivor Helga Rieden and her eventual refuge in the Dominican Republic. Photographs and field journals belonging to a social studies teacher’s grandfather, who served in World War II and participated in the liberation of Mauthausen concentration camp, provided an additional personal connection to the history they are studying.
Over the next several months, students will participate in lessons and workshops on Holocaust history, research, interviewing and filmmaking. Survivor interviews are expected to take place in late January, with the completed documentary premiering in the spring for students, survivors, families and the community. Participation in Names, Not Numbers was made possible through the generous sponsorship of the Cold Spring Harbor Educational Foundation.
“The films you create will become more than a record of a school project. They will become a bridge between generations,” Danbusky told students. “They will allow a survivor’s voice to reach beyond this room, beyond this school, and beyond this moment in time.”
Photo caption: A group of Cold Spring Harbor students interviewed Holocaust survivors and World War II veterans as part of their participation in the Names, Not Numbers curriculum.
Photos courtesy of Cold Spring Harbor Central School District
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