RCDS students and employees have been experiencing Voices Against Hate, Part 2 of the Common Circles exhibit, which aims to provide Holocaust education and combat antisemitism. Located in the Cohen Center, along with We Are RCDS: Bridging, Belonging, & Building Community (Part 1), Voices Against Hate documents the history of the Holocaust and antisemitism and offers testimonials from survivors and liberators, as well as information about Jewish identity. By giving audiences the knowledge and tools to define, recognize, and combat antisemitism, the exhibit empowers participants to stand up against hate in all its forms.

The deeply moving, experiential element of the exhibit happens through the Dimensions in Testimony Interactive Biographies* from the USC Shoah Foundation. Visitors are able to hear firsthand accounts from Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, a Holocaust survivor, and Alan Moskin, a Jewish American liberator, gaining a deeper understanding of their harrowing experiences during one of history's darkest chapters. Through AI technology, visitors are also able to ask their own questions and have an exchange with those who experienced the Holocaust.

The exhibit also includes written stories of hope and survival from members of the RCDS community, along with narratives highlighting other local Holocaust and WWII survivors, liberators, and upstanders. 

Describing the intention of the exhibit, RCDS alumni parent and founder of Common Circles Marla Felton P’19, P’21, says, “School trips to museums are not easy, so we decided to bring the museum experience to the schools themselves.” Common Circles Creative Director, Sue Spiegel, adds that “The We Are RCDS experience is a non-confrontational and creative way to delve into our varied identities and start to learn more about one another.” 

“Part 2 of the Common Circles exhibit builds powerfully on the work done in Part 1 to increase awareness and celebrate the range of identities in our community. Seeing and hearing the testimonials of Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and Alan Moskin–and other survivors and liberators–is crucial to remembering the atrocities of the Holocaust. The experience moves us all–young and old–to remember our responsibility to be upstanders and to do everything we can to make sure such horrific events never happen again.”  — Head of School Randall Dunn

The RCDS community will attend a grand opening ceremony for the full We Are RCDS: Bridging, Belonging & Building Community exhibit on February 12. Ms. Felton and Ms. Spiegel will also be on campus leading tours and interactive sessions for the public throughout the year (dates to follow & by appointment). 

Read more about Rye Country Day’s partnership with Common Circles.

*Dimensions in Testimony was developed in association with Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, with technology by USC Institute for Creative Technologies, and concept by Conscience Display. Funding for Dimensions in Testimony was provided in part by Pears Foundation, Louis. F. Smith, Melinda Goldrich and Andrea Cayton/Goldrich Family Foundation in honor of Jona Goldrich, Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, and Genesis Philanthropy Group (R.A.). Other partners include CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center.