THE IMPACT OF PORTRAITS OF SURVIVAL
IN OUR COMMUNITY

Dear Portraits staff and docents,
Thank you for arranging a powerful and moving learning experience for my class. Each survivor/docent spoke with an honesty that dignified and respected the students and reached them in a way that deepens and personalizes what they learn in the classroom. You effectively and poignantly demonstrate that there are no real boundaries between the past and present. Traumatic experiences forever color our perceptions but need not inhibit our living, loving and learning. You embody these lessons, which, from my vantage point as a history teacher, are gifts beyond measure. We left the Jewish Federation with full hearts and, I believe, more open minds.

Portraits of Survival: Life Journeys During the Holocaust and Beyond is a permanent exhibit in photography depicting the experiences of Santa Barbara residents who are survivors and refugees of the Holocaust. 

Housed at the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara, Portraits of Survival has hosted over 5,000 visitors since its inception in November 2003. The Portraits educational program is making a life changing impact on all those who participate, particularly community youth who engage with survivors around shared issues of identity, belonging and experiences of being disenfranchised from the general population.

Some unique angles:

• Survivors' firsthand accounts resonate with the experience of many Santa Barbara young people whose families have dealt with immigration, acculturation and discrimination.
• The experience of interacting with survivors around their experiences evokes questions around personal identity and moral responsibility related to what it means to "belong" to a peer group or be part of the larger community.
• The program has large impact as a community-wide change agent within the schools and the juvenile justice system, including youth who have been incarcerated (see attached list of school visits).
• Portraits is a valuable resource from which young people can draw, serving as a springboard for meaningful encounters which offset alienation and negative  behaviors such as gang-related violence, and encourages young people to "belong" in positive and meaningful ways.

Some visitor comments
Students

• "I just loved it.  I think it is admirable how amazing people took their time and told us the way they experienced the Holocaust and how they are still here trying to make this a better world."
• "I definitely recommend this program: people really should know what our mistakes were and we need to learn from them."
• "Very provocative and thought provoking.  This was an incredible experience that I will never forget.  Thank you very much."
• "I was so touched by the stories of these amazing people.  I was expecting to meet some people in deep sorrow, but I was surprised by their optimism."
• From a parent: Nothing is more meaningful then hearing from the survivors themselves. The stories of how you survived are very moving and real. The story of your success once you and your family reached America is also very impressive! Thanks again for sharing your history with the children. It gets them thinking about civilizations in general and what it means to really care about other human beings.
• From a community member: We were profoundly moved by this event; personally, it changed my world view of what it means to live as a Jew, and brought power and depth to my Jewish commitments.

A PARTIAL LIST OF SCHOOL VISITS TO DOCENT-LED PROGRAMS OF
PORTRAITS OF SURVIVAL

• Police Activities League/ Probation Department Reps
• La Cuesta School
• Bryant Treatment Center
• Antioch Graduate School
• Notre Dame Middle School
• UCSB Freshman Seminar
• Dos Pueblos High School
• Educator Training (with Anti-Defamation League)
• San Marcos High School PHOTOS
• Goleta Valley Junior High
• Americorps Training
• Santa Maria High School
• SB Police Dept PHOTOS
• Carpinteria High School
• UCSB Basketball team PHOTOS
• Alternative Youth Program PHOTOS
• Goleta Youth Group PHOTOS
• San Roque School PHOTOS
• Vandenberg High School
• Cabrillo High School PHOTOS
• SB Museum of Art High School Day PHOTOS
• Vandenberg Middle School PHOTOS
• Laguna Blanca High School PHOTOS
• La Colina Jr. High PHOTOS
• SB Sheriffs PHOTOS
• Los Angeles Police Dept PHOTOS
• Anacapa School PHOTOS
• Newcomers Club PHOTOS
• L.A. Children of Survival PHOTOS
• Braille Institute PHOTOS
• El Puente Community School PHOTOS
• SB Police Crisis Negotiation Response Team PHOTOS
• Criminal Justice System PHOTOS
• San Diego Jewish Academy PHOTOS

Student comments from Notre Dame Middle School students after a docent-led tour:

• "It made the stories real. We must listen when we have the chance. How honored we felt to meet the survivors."
• "Very appropriate for our grade because we haven't learned that much and now we know so much."
• "I just loved it. I think it is admirable how amazing persons took their time and told us the way they experienced the Holocaust and how they are still here trying to make this a better world."
• "I plan on coming again and hopefully taking my family."
• "This program was really touching and definitely was clear about the point it was trying to make. I don't think I'll forget any of these stories."
• "I really loved the way [Holocaust survivor] Fred Jamner looks so happy in his picture, after all he went through and he seems to enjoy his life very much."