Shore Road sixth grade students were witnesses to an important historical and personal account about the Holocaust during a virtual visit with survivor and “Four Perfect Pebbles” author Marion Blumenthal Lazan. Ms. Lazan’s presentation was a message of hope, courage and compassion.

“In a few short years, I and other survivors will not be around to share firsthand our experiences,” Ms. Lazan told the students. “Please share our stories. It is you who will have to bear witness.”

Ms. Lazan recounted her childhood prior to the war and the invocation of the Nuremberg Laws, which eventually led to her move to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Northern Germany. She explained a game she played while incarcerated – if she could find four perfect pebbles, her family would remain safe. This became the inspiration for the name of her best-selling book “Four Perfect Pebbles.” She also recounted her ride on the train to eastern Europe where she was eventually liberated and her eventual immigration to America.

“Despite the terrible things that happened to me, my life is rewarding,” Ms. Lazan said.

Ms. Lazan also encouraged students to “prevent our past from becoming your future” by being kind and respectful toward one another and by focusing on similarities between each other.