The History Department invited Alexandra Zapruder, author of Holocaust book Salvaged Pages, to speak to history classes about Holocaust diaries on Friday, February 8 in Nichols Hall auditorium.

Zapruder’s book, a compilation of excerpts from diaries of 15 different children during the Holocaust, is the result of her work in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.

Rather than intentionally seeking to publish a historical work, Zapruder revealed that finding the works of 60 children during her career at the Holocaust Museum inspired her to let the voices of these children to be heard for the first time.

“I didn’t really choose to focus on the Holocaust; I was drawn in by these diaries. It was something I felt compelled to do, and it took 10 years to do this book,” she said. “I think the most important thing for me about sharing these diaries is to give students a sense of how young people during the Holocaust wrote things about their lives that can help us understand what they experienced.”

Zapruder also highlighted the importance of primary accounts such as the Holocaust diaries that prompt readers to draw their own conclusions about the historical background.

“I think that’s the great strength of the primary work: as the person who is framing the material or as the writer, you can offer signed posts, you can help set the context, you can help people see what is in it. But at the end of the day, you have to let the reader have the experience of reading the material.”

Throughout her speech, Zapruder frequently prompted student participation, asking for the audience’s observations, questions, and opinions. Many students appreciated the level of interaction she underscored as it helped them learn more about the topic.

“I thought it was really interesting because it expanded on our eighth grade trip to the Holocaust museum, and it gave us more information about the people who had lived during the Holocaust and what their conditions were,” Madelyn Wang (10) said.

Other students such as Dakota McNealy (9) enjoyed the experience of having her as a guest speaker as well.

“She did pretty well. She obviously likes her job and it is very important to her,” he said.

Zapruder’s current projects include working on a novel regarding the history behind her grandfather’s film on the assassination of John F. Kennedy.