JACKSON TWP — The 30 panels in the “For the Child: Stories of the Kindertransport” exhibit at Seneca Valley Intermediate High School demonstrate the determination of Jewish children to retain some connection to their happy home life before Hitler’s regime of hate destroyed their families.

The exhibit, which was open to the students and staff from Sept. 10 to 18 in the school’s LIGHT Center, included photos on large panels of the items children packed in their suitcases for the trip to Great Britain, where they would be away from Nazi persecution.

The humanitarian effort Kindertransport saved almost 10,000 mostly Jewish children between 1938 and 1940 as Hitler’s anti-Jewish rhetoric increased. The transports were planned by those in Germany’s Jewish communities, and child welfare organizations in Great Britain arranged for the children’s care, education and eventual emigration to Britain.

The sepia panels in the exhibit capture the intense emotions of family separation and the hope for survival and a new beginning.

A tiny pair of ice skates, a backpack, a child’s hairbrush, photos, small toys and other items depict the children’s goal of somehow continuing a normal life once they reached Great Britain and the immediate future they faced on foreign, yet friendly, soil.

Each panel is topped by the name of the child whose suitcase contents were photographed, along with a short, yet heart-rending description of the situation that was faced by the child and their family as a result of the Third Reich’s mistreatment of Jews.

Michelle Russo, who teaches English at the school, said Seneca Valley is the only school district in the area where the exhibit was displayed. She said it is normally set up at synagogues, anti-hate rallies and other venues.

She said 650 students at the middle school and intermediate and senior high school, plus their teachers, viewed the moving exhibit.

“That doesn’t count the students who come on their own,” Russo said.

She said the panels elicit empathy in students.

“These are actual things people took on the train, so the students can make those connections,” Russo said.

She also hopes students realize an event like the Holocaust can never happen again, and that individuals should stand up against any hate they witness.

“This was a time of hate and people stood up against it,” Russo said.

She cannot imagine the pain experienced by the Jewish parents who took advantage of Germany’s loosened immigration laws that allowed the Kindertransport to take place.

“The people who gave up their children had amazing spirit,” Russo said.

The photos have special meaning because many of the parents of Kindertransport children were shipped to concentration camps after their children were sent to Great Britain.

“In many instances, the objects represent the last physical contact that a child had with either of their parents,” Russo said.

She said a documentary titled “Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport” is available on the streaming services Fandango At Home, Prime Video and Apple TV.

Caden Gekeler, a sophomore at Seneca Valley Intermediate High, called the exhibit a unique way to characterize the injustice and devastation of the Holocaust.

“For me, it gives very good insight into the lives and experiences of the kids that went on the Kindertransport,” he said.

He said the little toys and child-size ice skates were some of the most impactful items in the panels.

“They really stood out to me,” Caden said. “The quote with the skates said they were last polished in 1930 by the kid’s mom.”

He is glad his fellow ninth and 10th graders were exposed to the exhibit.

“I think it’s a very intelligent choice to do this,” Caden said. “It’s really important for the kids our age, especially.”

He agreed that such a display could help ensure that an event like the Holocaust can be avoided in the future.

“It’s a way to get personal with this, so in our lives we make sure nothing like this happens again, because it’s a very sad thing,” Caden said.

His classmate, Sam Luszic, said he was interested to see all the different items children chose to take with them when they left their homes for the safety of Great Britain.

“It’s a good thing we get to learn about this stuff, because it was really hard for all of (the families,)” Sam said.

He said the exhibit made him realize that abominations like the Holocaust have not happened in the U.S. or Europe in more than 80 years.

“It left a positive impact to see times have changed,” Sam said.

Anna Gotlinsky, also a Seneca Valley sophomore, said she wished the exhibit had included more detail on why the child or teen decided to take the items they tucked into their suitcases.

“A lot of people see it as a picture, but what else is there to be known?” Anna said. “It could be a lot more elaborate on the details of each story.”

She used as an example a photo on one panel that included an image of the sign at L&C Corner Store.

“It doesn’t say how that person was connected to the store or what it was,” Anna said.

But she is still glad the display came to her school.

“I’m happy to see someone wants us to see what kids went through (during the Holocaust,)” Anna said. “We want our generation to know about it and how awful it was.”

Russo said she hopes to expand the school’s LIGHT Center into a humanitarian maker space where teachers, students and school groups can work on anti-hate projects.

“It’s really about understanding hate,” she said. “It gives the kids a deeper understanding of the world and people and each other.”

Russo said Classrooms Without Borders, which brought the exhibit to Seneca Valley, collaborates with the district by offering teacher training and seminars.

She also praised the district for embracing the Kindertransport exhibit.

“We are very lucky here at Seneca Valley to have availability and flexibility and openness,” Russo said.

She hopes everyone who viewed the sepia panels of the Kindertransport exhibit was affected.

“It’s not political; it’s just about being a good citizen,” Russo said.