Pockets await “In My Pocket”

June 5, 2023 by J-Wire Newsdesk
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In My Pocket, a project for children using the memories of a child survivor of the Holocaust to educate today’s children about refugees and displaced persons, has been adopted by schools and libraries in Sydney and Perth.

Renee Levy, Year 6 Team Leader Moriah College & Jill Rabinowitz of the WE ARE HERE! Foundation

The book is the work of Perth’s We Are Here Foundation and is being funded by the German Embassy in Canberra.

The Foundation’s Eli Rabinowitz has told J-Wire that Moriah College, Masada College, Mount Sinai College and the Emanuel School in Sydney are joining the Carmel School in Perth to partner with the project.
In Perth, Montessori School in Kingsley and the Dianella and Morley Libraries are also taking part.
In Mandurah,  the Mandurah City Library, Falcon Library & Community Centre and the Lakelands Library & Community Centre have become partners.
The heart of the project is the booklet, In My Pocket, a true story written by Dorrith Oppenheim Sim, who was on a kindertransport to the UK from Kassel Germany in 1939.

Dorrith was 7 ½ when she landed in Scotland. She never saw her parents again.

She wrote: “I was 7 ½ when my visa was stamped on 26 July 1939.

There were almost 10,000 children like me who came to the United Kingdom before World War II began. Some of us were babies; most of us were Jewish. We were each given a place on a Kindertransport out of Nazi Europe. After the War, some of us were reunited with our families. Sadly, many of us were not, and we either stayed in our new countries, where we grew up, or went to live in different countries all over the world.”

 

Israel’s Ambassador to AustraliaAmir Simon has a copy

Her autobiographical picture book is aimed at nine to eleven-year-olds, and it affords young children a new perspective on the current situation of child refugees and displaced people. It is an excellent introduction to how to be an Upstander. 

 
The program includes a book reading and an art & craft workshop.
The In My Pocket book is available in English and in German and is now available as a mini pocketbook in Australia.
The German Embassy in Canberra is providing funding and support for the IN MY POCKET project, allowing the use the embassy logo.
Eli Rabinowitz said: “Melbourne is now in our sights, and the initial interest is very encouraging.”
Asked why there is a large book, Rabinowitz explained that schools and libraries requested a size that would be more compatible for their readers.
The book is currently on sale in Glasgow, The Holocaust Museum in Washington and in Germany.

Comments

One Response to “Pockets await “In My Pocket””
  1. relevy@moriah.nsw.edu.au says:

    So excited to start this project …

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