0:01:15 > 0:01:17To the students of the Whitwell Middle School.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24I recently learned from a friend about your paper clip project.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29I was so moved by the story that I found myself in tears.
0:01:31 > 0:01:37You've embarked on a journey that begins in the brain, but ends in the heart.
0:01:39 > 0:01:46Six million Jews will never again dance, love, sing or learn,
0:01:46 > 0:01:52but the souls of six million Jews will be honoured, remembered and treasured
0:01:52 > 0:01:56because of your little school in Whitwell, Tennessee,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00and the tolerance and love that live there.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20'My name is Linda Hooper.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23'I've lived here, in Whitwell, Tennessee, all my life,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27'and I've been the principal of the middle school for nine years.'
0:02:32 > 0:02:35A lot of people have said that our little town
0:02:35 > 0:02:38is an unlikely place for what happened.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40I guess I can understand that.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Probably, most people, if they drove into Whitwell,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47would not be terribly impressed.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56It's a very rural town, about 24 miles northwest of Chattanooga.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06It's got just two traffic lights...
0:03:10 > 0:03:13..several gas stations
0:03:13 > 0:03:15and a couple of restaurants.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37'Whitwell used to be a coal mining community,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41'and then about 30 years ago, we had a really bad accident,
0:03:41 > 0:03:46'and the coal mining industry just went bust.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50'So now, we're what's called a depressed community.'
0:03:52 > 0:03:55But let me tell you something, we're not depressed -
0:03:55 > 0:03:59we're poor, we're extremely poor.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04But let me tell you about our children.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16We have wonderful children.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20They're respectful,
0:04:20 > 0:04:22they are thoughtful,
0:04:22 > 0:04:24they are caring,
0:04:24 > 0:04:28but they are pretty much homogenous.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37We are a community of 1,600 people.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40However, we really have no diversity.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42There are no Jewish people,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44no Catholics,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48and in our school, we have only five black kids
0:04:48 > 0:04:51and one Hispanic child.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54We are all alike.
0:04:54 > 0:05:00And when we come up to someone who is not like us, we don't have a clue.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09So, in 1998, we began an adventure.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12It was no great mission.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15It was a need, our need.
0:05:15 > 0:05:21'We were looking to do a project that would involve tolerance and diversity.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25So Miss Hooper sent me to a conference in Chattanooga,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28and I went to this conference and went to many classes
0:05:28 > 0:05:31to find a project that would fit our need.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35So he came back to me, and he said, "You know, if we studied about
0:05:35 > 0:05:38"the Holocaust, think about all the things we could learn.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41"We could surely learn about evil.
0:05:41 > 0:05:47"And we would definitely learn about a culture that was totally different from our own."
0:05:47 > 0:05:50And so I went and asked Sandra Roberts,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53who is the 8th grade Language Arts teacher, if she would like to help.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57When I heard about the project, I was so excited.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00'I couldn't say yes quick enough.'
0:06:00 > 0:06:05We sat down and we decided that our goal was to teach children
0:06:05 > 0:06:12what happens when intolerance reigns and when prejudice goes unchecked.
0:06:15 > 0:06:22So that's what we set out to do - to teach our children that not everybody is white and Protestant
0:06:22 > 0:06:29and doesn't live in a rural community where they are very protected and loved and cared for.
0:06:29 > 0:06:35That's all we wanted to do, just a nice, simple thing.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48The important thing is the lessons you'll learn from this project.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52How important it is to treat everybody
0:06:52 > 0:06:56exactly like you want to be treated.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Let's talk a little bit about what's going to happen today.
0:07:00 > 0:07:06The first year, which was in '98, I believe, there was just the Holocaust project.
0:07:06 > 0:07:07The teachers didn't know a lot,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10but they were trying to teach the kids what they did know.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15They read books and they watched video clips, saw pictures.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19And they just tried their best to do what they can.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23But I want to remind you before we start
0:07:23 > 0:07:27that what we're going to cover in this project is very, very graphic.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30'Of course, one of the first things that the kids had to learn
0:07:30 > 0:07:36'and one of the hardest things for them to comprehend
0:07:36 > 0:07:41'was that Hitler murdered six million Jewish people.'
0:07:42 > 0:07:48The idea for the paper clips came when a student said, "What is six million?
0:07:48 > 0:07:50"I've never seen six million."
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Miss Hooper's like, "Well, neither have I.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55"If you can find something to collect, we'll try it."
0:07:55 > 0:08:00So the students began doing some research on the internet
0:08:00 > 0:08:06and they discovered that the paper clip was invented in Norway.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10I never knew that. And they also learned that
0:08:10 > 0:08:15the Norwegians used the paper clip as a symbol during the Holocaust.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19Back in the 1940s, Norwegians wore paper clips on their collar
0:08:19 > 0:08:23to represent the people who were in the Holocaust at that time.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28The Jews had to wear stars telling people that they were Jews,
0:08:28 > 0:08:33so the Norwegians wore the paper clip to represent what the wrong-doing was.
0:08:33 > 0:08:39Because if they spoke out about it, they would probably get killed or put in a concentration camp.
0:08:39 > 0:08:45And they came and they said, "Can we write some letters to some people we know
0:08:45 > 0:08:53"and to some other schools and to some famous people, and see if they'll send us some paper clips?"
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Miss Hooper said, "Sure."
0:08:55 > 0:08:58So, we began sending letters out.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09We have some from Tom Hanks and from Bill Cosby
0:09:09 > 0:09:13and from former President Bush and former President Clinton
0:09:13 > 0:09:14and President Bush.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27"Dear students, celebrities don't always read their fan mail,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31"as they think it's time-consuming. And though I, too, am guilty
0:09:31 > 0:09:33"of not reading everything that crosses my desk,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36"I was certainly glad that I read yours.
0:09:36 > 0:09:42"I have a very difficult time explaining to any of my seven grandchildren
0:09:42 > 0:09:43"what the Holocaust was all about.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53"I am a Jew.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58"The whole depravity of what happened in the concentration camps
0:09:58 > 0:10:01"really struck home when I saw pictures
0:10:01 > 0:10:04"of the atrocities perpetrated on the Jewish people.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08"Those pictures are still very much alive in my memories.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12"I'm sending you one paper clip.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14"It is my paper clip.
0:10:15 > 0:10:21"In the future, I will remember your project with every paper clip I come in contact with,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25"as it will be a symbol of what you students are trying to accomplish.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27"I am moved by your endeavours.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29"Bless you. Tom Bosley."
0:10:32 > 0:10:36I mean, if this is a middle school, we're talking about 8th graders, I guess.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41Propaganda has absolutely nothing to do with the truth.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45And the stimulation that they're getting from their teachers
0:10:45 > 0:10:48is really...everyone there should be commended for what they've done.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52When I came in here, I didn't really know a lot about it, so it just felt
0:10:52 > 0:10:56good to be a part of something big and learn more about the Holocaust.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01Every year, the incoming 8th graders pick up where last year's left off.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04One of the really motivating things for David and me
0:11:04 > 0:11:08is seeing the thoughtfulness each new group brings to the project.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Terri Lynn, sitting there all nice and still. Why did you want to be a part of this?
0:11:12 > 0:11:16I know that your afternoons are very full with cheerleading
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and other things you do, and this will take a huge commitment.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23I wanted to do this because I think that this would help everybody stop
0:11:23 > 0:11:26and make sure they know somebody before they start
0:11:26 > 0:11:32thinking and saying, and I know that I do that, and I think this group would really help me.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Very good.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39'When I started this project, the person I was is not the person I am now.'
0:11:39 > 0:11:41It's what you do with that charisma.
0:11:41 > 0:11:48I was a new teacher, still trying to further her career and figure out
0:11:48 > 0:11:54my teaching styles and what worked best for me, not necessarily what worked best for the children.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58'I think you get so engrossed in what you can do
0:11:58 > 0:12:03'to further your career, and it becomes about you.'
0:12:03 > 0:12:06Rumours. We all know what they are.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09We all probably have been subject to one or two in our life.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Does that make a difference in they way people think about you and think about me?
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Oh, yeah, it does.
0:12:16 > 0:12:22'When the project first began, I was very prejudiced in many areas
0:12:22 > 0:12:25'and was very quick to judge all races.'
0:12:25 > 0:12:30I was the typical Southern person, quick to judge and quick to stereotype.
0:12:30 > 0:12:37'As a teacher, I guess I'd listened to what everyone had said about kids that age
0:12:37 > 0:12:41'and pretty much had stereotyped children, you know, in my classes.'
0:12:41 > 0:12:46I wouldn't take input from them. I would tell them what I wanted them to know, and that was it.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51You're going to come up with some really cool posters.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56'These children really wanted to understand the magnitude of the Holocaust.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01'That's why the second group in the fall of 1999 added the Paper Clip project to their weekly meetings.
0:13:01 > 0:13:08'And with letters and paper clips coming in, it seemed to be catching on.'
0:13:08 > 0:13:11We first got a shipment of 100,000 paper clips.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16They were very excited, and they thought they were off to a booming start.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21We received that in one large shipment from a gentleman in California, a jewellery designer.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26He called and he was all excited, so, for a couple of weeks there, we were real excited.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29"Oh, we got 100,000, this is going very quickly."
0:13:29 > 0:13:318,830.
0:13:41 > 0:13:47And then we got into a huge lull where we would go weeks and receive two letters.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52And it's really hard to keep your optimism up, your enthusiasm up,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56and to keep up the enthusiasm of 27 kids.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59And we were just fiddling with some numbers, trying to determine
0:13:59 > 0:14:04how long it would take us to get to six million at the current rate.
0:14:04 > 0:14:09And it was gonna take us 10 years,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13and we just both shook our heads. We knew we didn't have that much in us.
0:14:13 > 0:14:19Sandy and I sat and looked at each other, and we said, "Well, if we can collect 1.5 million for the children
0:14:19 > 0:14:22"that were killed, you know, we'll probably be doing pretty good."
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Towards the end of 1999, I guess the project could have gone either way.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40But no-one was ready to give up on it just yet.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Fortunately, that's when Peter and Dagmar Schroeder came in.
0:14:44 > 0:14:50- Alcohol, how is it called?- Oh, moonshining. Moonshining. Yeah.- Yes.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Oh, gosh. How do you describe Peter and Dagmar Schroeder?
0:14:54 > 0:14:56It's only a beginning now.
0:14:56 > 0:15:02They contacted us in October of '99.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05And the letter read,
0:15:05 > 0:15:11their friend, who was a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor named Lena Gitter,
0:15:11 > 0:15:13had found our project on the internet.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17And she said, "This is your assignment."
0:15:17 > 0:15:19We both are journalists,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23and we are here in the United States for 20 years.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25We are White House correspondents.
0:15:25 > 0:15:26Yes, Whitwell High.
0:15:26 > 0:15:32And on the side, we try to get a feel for this country.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34- Is this where they have the football?- Yeah.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38- "Go, Tigers, Go Tigers."- Yeah.
0:15:38 > 0:15:44As journalists, you always have this negative stuff you write about.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48And then if you're getting older, like us,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51then it's the danger that you get cynical.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54And that you don't believe in good stuff anymore.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59In the beginning, there was not much of the paper clips.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02They just had started to collect them.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07We saw then, OK, we have to help the kids, and that we can do that
0:16:07 > 0:16:10and the Germans should be involved.
0:16:10 > 0:16:17And we were talking to some people at the school and we asked, "Can we come over? Can we visit you?"
0:16:17 > 0:16:20They said, "Sure."
0:16:22 > 0:16:29Maybe it was not only an experience for us, it was an experience for the children, too.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34Because the children obviously had no idea what Germans looked like.
0:16:34 > 0:16:39They asked their teacher, "How do Germans look like?
0:16:39 > 0:16:41"Are they different from us?"
0:16:41 > 0:16:47And then we came over and later they told us, "You look quite normal."
0:16:50 > 0:16:56We lost our professionality right away when we saw the kids.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01How can you be professional, when strange kids of 13 or 14
0:17:01 > 0:17:07or 15 years old, you have never seen in your life, hug you
0:17:07 > 0:17:12and greet you like an old friend? You can't.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Little Tiger. You are number one. Give me five. Could you do that?
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Ooh! That's a little bit hard.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24They came...
0:17:24 > 0:17:27They saw...
0:17:27 > 0:17:30They wrote.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38They went back to Washington.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43They sent Dita Smith with the Washington Post to our school.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49I did a little research on the town and the area and realized that
0:17:49 > 0:17:54Dayton, Tennessee is only about 30 or 40 miles to the north,
0:17:54 > 0:18:00where the famous Monkey Trial took place, otherwise known as the Scopes Trial,
0:18:00 > 0:18:05where a teacher was tried for teaching Darwinian theories
0:18:05 > 0:18:09rather than Christian theory of Creationism.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17The other historical fact I discovered when I was in Whitwell
0:18:17 > 0:18:22was that the Ku Klux Klan was founded only about 100 miles away, in Pulaski.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29Maybe when I got to Whitwell, I was a little bit prejudiced myself.
0:18:33 > 0:18:40I expected a town that was close-minded, very Christian, very fundamentalist.
0:18:40 > 0:18:47But I realized that in itself was my prejudice, not their prejudice.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55After I went to Whitwell, I wrote my story
0:18:55 > 0:18:58and it appeared on Passover Day.
0:19:05 > 0:19:12From NBC News World Headquarters in New York, this is NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.
0:19:12 > 0:19:18The Holocaust. The cold, calculated extermination of millions of Jews.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21A great evil that must never be forgotten.
0:19:21 > 0:19:28From a corner of Tennessee tonight, perhaps this generation is teaching us.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37Well, it really started getting big whenever, like, the Washington Post came down,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40and then NBC came, and then people just started...
0:19:40 > 0:19:43the paper clips just started coming in by the millions.
0:19:43 > 0:19:4511,390.
0:19:48 > 0:19:54Before the Washington Post came, we probably had 150,000 paper clips.
0:20:01 > 0:20:0430, 31, 32.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16- How many in that box?- 152,290.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33Over a period of six weeks, we ended up with 24 million paper clips.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36And we counted them all.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41The grannies counted them.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46'The aunts counted them.'
0:20:46 > 0:20:48It's heavy, so be careful.
0:20:51 > 0:20:52Everybody was counting.
0:20:56 > 0:21:03We checked in over 24 million paper clips.
0:21:03 > 0:21:09'And about 25,000 pieces of mail.'
0:21:14 > 0:21:18At first, when it went from maybe a tub or so,
0:21:18 > 0:21:23which our regular mail carrier would take in his car every day,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26it got to the point where we had hampers full,
0:21:26 > 0:21:30and he couldn't load those hampers with the rest of his mail.
0:21:32 > 0:21:38'So we had to call the middle school and inform them something's going on over here.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42'Instead of us delivering your mail, you have to come to us to pick it up.'
0:21:42 > 0:21:47Got something for you here from Germany, this suitcase right here.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49That came in this morning.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52- Looks old, too.- Yeah, it does look vintage, doesn't it?
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- I see a paper clip hanging out the back.- There it is, right there.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58That's wonderful, thanks. I appreciate it.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01- All right, man, we'll see you later. Have a good day.- You, too.- OK.
0:22:09 > 0:22:15It's sorted in two different crates - Alabama through Montana and then Nebraska through Wyoming.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Foreign mail is all held in a separate crate.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21They take every letter out.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23They empty the paper clips out.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28Once you get it sorted, then you sort it again by individual states.
0:22:30 > 0:22:38And then they will grab a bundle, go pull the log where they hand-record every address.
0:22:43 > 0:22:44And they love the stamps.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48They'll scrape the stamps off the envelopes and keep them,
0:22:48 > 0:22:52because they come from Spain, Germany, New Zealand and England.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05Every piece of paper, regardless of size, is kept.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08It's put in a plastic sleeve and stored in a notebook.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12We are averaging filling up a three-inch binder every two days.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23There was a time when we were just flooded with paper clips,
0:23:23 > 0:23:28and I began I to think, "My word, what have I unleashed here?"
0:23:28 > 0:23:33'It's like you're in a flood and you're trying to stop it,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37'and yet you don't want it to stop, because coming with the flood
0:23:37 > 0:23:40- 'are all these important lessons.' - It's in German.
0:23:40 > 0:23:47- They're all addressed to Anne. - This is Anne Frank. This is awesome.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51They've written little things to Anne Frank.
0:23:53 > 0:23:58Somebody is interested enough in what we're doing to take this kind of time.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03I think it's amazing enough that they even know about it. You know?
0:24:03 > 0:24:08There are people in Chattanooga, Tennessee who don't know where Whitwell, Tennessee is!
0:24:08 > 0:24:10That's absolutely true.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18'Most people are good, you know, like Anne Frank said in her diary.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21'You know, people at heart are good.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25'And when they see something like this happening that is good,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28'they wanna be a part of it.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31'You know, the majority of people want to see things get better and
0:24:31 > 0:24:37'they want to see children in a good light instead of in a bad light.'
0:24:37 > 0:24:43This class in Germany has gotten a suitcase,
0:24:43 > 0:24:48and they have packed it with messages.
0:24:48 > 0:24:54Basically, they're all kind of asking for forgiveness from Anne Frank.
0:24:54 > 0:25:00Now, I think everybody in here has either seen or read The Diary Of Anne Frank.
0:25:00 > 0:25:06The gist of most of the messages is what this translation says.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10"Dear Anne, you were brave and courageous.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15"I think it is not good what Hitler did to the Jews.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19"Regardless of who we are or what we are,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22"people are people."
0:25:24 > 0:25:27I believe people from the North and the West,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30when they look at children in the South, they think,
0:25:30 > 0:25:32"Dumb little redneck children."
0:25:34 > 0:25:38They're stereotyped and that's what we're trying to teach in this project.
0:25:38 > 0:25:43You can't stereotype anyone, because you yourself are stereotyped.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47I am stereotyped, because I live in the South.
0:25:47 > 0:25:52And I look at people that live in the North and I have a bad habit of doing it, I stereotype them.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58And that's what we're trying to do,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01is break those stereotypes.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08Listen to this letter.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12"Shalom. I read on the internet about your assignment
0:26:12 > 0:26:17"and was very moved by the idea of collecting six million paper clips in the memory of the six million.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20"I look forward to seeing pictures of the completed project.
0:26:20 > 0:26:27"The attached paper clip is in memory of a friend of my grandfather, whose name is forgotten and grave unknown."
0:26:27 > 0:26:33I think that it's beautiful that they don't know his name and they don't know where his grave is, and...
0:26:33 > 0:26:37But I think it's good that they're sending a paper clip in remembrance of him.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Reading the letters,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49it's like you get to know people that aren't here anymore.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56And I'm thinking about all the people, one by one,
0:26:56 > 0:27:02that they each had families and they each were brothers or sisters, and they were daughters and sons.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10I think for our children,
0:27:10 > 0:27:15it was like an ice water bath when the letters began to come.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22As one of the kids said to me, "Do you realize that there are
0:27:22 > 0:27:25"people in this world who never knew their grandparents?"
0:27:29 > 0:27:33I don't think it had ever occurred to them that there were people in this world
0:27:33 > 0:27:37who had nobody to care about them and who didn't have families.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47"Dear students, I am a daughter of two Holocaust survivors.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49"I am so proud of what you're doing
0:27:49 > 0:27:51"in memory of all who perished during the Holocaust.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56"My parents, Kalmon and Louisa Gluck, survived many horrors
0:27:56 > 0:28:00"during their internment under the Nazi regime.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05"Many members of both my mother's and father's families died at the camps.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12"I have enclosed 14 paper clips for four grandparents, a brother,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15"seven aunts and uncles, and two cousins.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20"I wish you the best of luck on your wonderful project.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24"Sincerely, Mrs Sheila Gluck Levine."
0:28:27 > 0:28:34I grew up a child who had no grandparents when others had them.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36All I wanted was people.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38I wanted them, and I never had them.
0:28:40 > 0:28:46In front of me, I have a prayer book that my father took through the camps with him.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52It was given to him by a man who was being gassed, and the man asked him,
0:28:52 > 0:28:56if he survived the camps, that he should take it with him.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58And this is something that has survived
0:28:58 > 0:29:03since my father was liberated in 1945 and has been in our family.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07When my father passed away, everyone got to feel where my father
0:29:07 > 0:29:11held this prayer book and how tightly it must have been held.
0:29:14 > 0:29:20I thank you so much for giving another way to say, "I remember him,
0:29:20 > 0:29:22"I remember my mother,
0:29:22 > 0:29:25"the times in the camps,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28"and I also remember those we lost."
0:29:28 > 0:29:29Thank you.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Comes along the Spring of 2001,
0:29:43 > 0:29:48the Greater Five Towns Holocaust Survivor Group in New York called us.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52It seems that somehow, they'd heard about the project.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58And they wanted to know if they could come to Whitwell
0:29:58 > 0:30:01and share their survivor stories with our children.
0:30:01 > 0:30:06And the evening before they spoke to the children at the school,
0:30:06 > 0:30:12they were invited to the First United Methodist Church for the whole town to meet them.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18They don't know what Whitwell is, and, you know,
0:30:18 > 0:30:24they're coming from this huge urban area and they're a little self-conscious or nervous about it.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27You don't need to be nervous here. We're just home folk.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29And we're just glad to have 'em here.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32My name is Joe. I'm a survivor.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34I was in Auschwitz for three years.
0:30:34 > 0:30:39I've got a number, the number is 124105.
0:30:39 > 0:30:44And I'm glad that I can come and talk to you nice people. Thank you.
0:30:44 > 0:30:50I want to remind our members here that our guests should be the first ones to go through the line tonight.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53And let's have a moment of blessing together.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58Our Father, we thank you especially for our guests this evening.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02We ask your special blessings on this food.
0:31:17 > 0:31:23Good evening. Wherever hatred and prejudice will,
0:31:23 > 0:31:29it will find a wedge and a way into our lives.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35But because of what these young people are doing,
0:31:35 > 0:31:41we are understanding that there is another way, and that is the way of love.
0:31:41 > 0:31:46And we can reach out and embrace all people.
0:31:46 > 0:31:51First thing I want to say, I wish the whole world was like you are.
0:31:51 > 0:31:57I was born in Poland. My name is Bernard Igielski.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01'When the first survivor came,
0:32:01 > 0:32:05'I think is when it really hit home, what we were teaching.'
0:32:05 > 0:32:09We as Jews were singled out, put in a ghetto,
0:32:09 > 0:32:11had to wear a star.
0:32:11 > 0:32:19'And they spoke and gave us a real-life face to a story.'
0:32:19 > 0:32:20I said, when I stood in Auschwitz
0:32:20 > 0:32:25and I'm seeing that big chimney smoking day and night...
0:32:25 > 0:32:29'And we didn't really understand until that point
0:32:29 > 0:32:34'that what we were teaching, you know, wasn't just book learning.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37'This actually happened and this person lived through it.'
0:32:37 > 0:32:41And instead of being afraid, shielding your children,
0:32:41 > 0:32:45prepare them, prepare them for the real world.
0:32:45 > 0:32:50Yes, there are not nice things out there, but if they will be prepared,
0:32:50 > 0:32:53they will be able to do the right thing.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55Thank you.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57APPLAUSE
0:33:04 > 0:33:11Future generations will have to learn about the Holocaust
0:33:11 > 0:33:13from the textbooks.
0:33:13 > 0:33:20We are the eyewitnesses that can, to a certain degree,
0:33:20 > 0:33:25tell you what took place.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29I was born in a small town in Poland.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32'The one who stood out for me was Sam.
0:33:32 > 0:33:37'He was like a grandfather, a great-grandfather.'
0:33:37 > 0:33:39He just, when he...
0:33:39 > 0:33:45he'd look at you, and he'd just make you feel all warm and loving inside toward him.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48I was with my brother.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51My brother was three years older than I am.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54But I had no idea...
0:33:54 > 0:34:01'When they first arrived to Auschwitz, Sam and his brother and his mother and his little brother
0:34:01 > 0:34:03'met up with the doctor, Mengele.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08'He was the one who chose left or right.
0:34:08 > 0:34:13'And he sent his mother and little brother left,
0:34:13 > 0:34:17'and he sent Sam and his brother right.'
0:34:17 > 0:34:21And so, Sam did not know what had happened.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24And after they had went through the showers,
0:34:24 > 0:34:26Sam found a guard and asked him.
0:34:26 > 0:34:27And I asked him.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30I said, "Please tell me.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32"We arrived last night,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35"and I arrived with my mother
0:34:35 > 0:34:39"and my brother. Where are they?
0:34:39 > 0:34:42"What happened to them?"
0:34:42 > 0:34:48And that man shows me smoke coming out of a chimney.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52I did not understand what that means.
0:34:55 > 0:35:00Until I found out that the chimney is from a crematorium.
0:35:06 > 0:35:11'I was thinking what it would have been like
0:35:11 > 0:35:14'if that was me in his place
0:35:14 > 0:35:17'and my family and my brothers and my mom.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20'I was just thinking how horrible that would have been.'
0:35:20 > 0:35:24And I'll never know what he went through.
0:35:24 > 0:35:29And I only pray to God that my brother should not
0:35:29 > 0:35:34have been sent to such a place, because he would not survive.
0:35:34 > 0:35:39To actually see someone who had been through the things that I read about,
0:35:39 > 0:35:41that was really hard.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44But, I just, as a mother, I kept trying to imagine
0:35:44 > 0:35:46what that would be like.
0:35:46 > 0:35:51To have my kids taken away from me like that
0:35:51 > 0:35:53or, I mean, just not to know where they were.
0:35:53 > 0:35:58'I think that struck me about as hard as anything.'
0:36:00 > 0:36:06I will tell you one thing. Every one survivor got a story.
0:36:08 > 0:36:13There's not enough paper in the whole world, and not enough pens
0:36:13 > 0:36:18to write down what these survivors went through. Thank you.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20APPLAUSE
0:36:54 > 0:36:56This is a loving community.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59And I look at it as...
0:36:59 > 0:37:03There's no place in the world that this would have been any more appropriate to start.
0:37:05 > 0:37:11Cos this Holocaust project is a project about love and tolerance.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15And what better place to start than Whitwell, Tennessee?
0:38:10 > 0:38:13Please stand for the National Anthem.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
0:38:28 > 0:38:30and to the Republic for which it stands,
0:38:30 > 0:38:35one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40This is our monument of shoes.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43It commemorates the Jews that are in some of the death camps.
0:38:43 > 0:38:51The morning after the survivors spoke at the First United Methodist Church, they came to our school,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54because they wanted to see first-hand
0:38:54 > 0:38:57what the children were doing with this project
0:38:57 > 0:39:01and have a special time with these students.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13It is important to me to tell these stories,
0:39:13 > 0:39:15because there are people in the world
0:39:15 > 0:39:17which are denying that it ever took place.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29..in order to annihilate us and erase any trace of whatever happened.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32At least, that was their intentions.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34We were put on a dead march
0:39:34 > 0:39:39and usually we marched during the night, mostly,
0:39:39 > 0:39:43so we wouldn't be visible to the general public.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45Most of us didn't make it.
0:39:45 > 0:39:50The Americans, they showed themselves on the horizon,
0:39:50 > 0:39:52and I ran out of camp.
0:39:52 > 0:39:58And I was hiding, so I spent the night over there and I wouldn't dare go out.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01I waited until the next day. I had to risk it, and I went out.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03The Americans were there.
0:40:03 > 0:40:07And I was a free person to do what I...
0:40:07 > 0:40:10But I'm still here. That's the main thing.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12I want you all to know,
0:40:12 > 0:40:17I came here to the United States in 1948,
0:40:17 > 0:40:19and I've been the happiest ever.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25HE SOBS
0:40:29 > 0:40:35I want you to know happiness makes me cry more than anything else.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44I never have thought about it this way before, but after I heard his speech
0:40:44 > 0:40:47and how emotional he got, it really touched me.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49APPLAUSE
0:40:53 > 0:40:58I just can't imagine just one day being at home and the next day being
0:40:58 > 0:41:02shipped off to a concentration camp and being tortured like that...
0:41:02 > 0:41:06It just makes no sense why people in the world let that happen.
0:41:09 > 0:41:14It made me realize, the next time I say the Pledge of Allegiance, I'm going to think of how...
0:41:14 > 0:41:18glad I am that it's a free country
0:41:18 > 0:41:24and I have the right to do what I feel and say what I say. I just...
0:41:24 > 0:41:27Being much more respectful to it.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31When I was finished, they embraced me and hugged me and kissed me.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35They couldn't... They never heard these, some of them cried even.
0:41:37 > 0:41:44Because they never heard stories like this here and they were never in contact with people that...
0:41:44 > 0:41:46experienced it.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54To me, they're my heroes because they've been through everything.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02I'm gonna take what they've told me and pass it down
0:42:02 > 0:42:06with my kids to their grandchildren and so on,
0:42:06 > 0:42:10and to my friends and my family.
0:42:10 > 0:42:15Where they will always remember that this horrible thing happened and,
0:42:15 > 0:42:19hopefully, they can prevent it from ever happening again.
0:42:19 > 0:42:23They're learning from what we're teaching and they're teaching others.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26That's the whole point of this project - to teach their children
0:42:26 > 0:42:28and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
0:42:30 > 0:42:36Growing up in the South, growing up in rural Tennessee, as I have,
0:42:36 > 0:42:40I've been exposed to a lot of racial remarks.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46You know, my dad is the greatest man on earth.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48And I have no doubt of that.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50But he has a bias,
0:42:50 > 0:42:52and he can make racial slurs.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55And it's not anything against him.
0:42:57 > 0:43:02Going into college, I had an African-American roommate
0:43:02 > 0:43:06and loved him like a brother and still do.
0:43:06 > 0:43:12But it was nothing for me to, even sometimes in his presence, say racial slurs or...
0:43:12 > 0:43:15And I look back now,
0:43:15 > 0:43:19and I hope that it didn't...
0:43:19 > 0:43:21I guess...
0:43:21 > 0:43:25I hope it didn't hurt him.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27- This is one of your favourites, isn't it, Cody?- Yes.
0:43:27 > 0:43:32- It's your favourite, too. - Yeah, it is, and it was one of my favourites when I was little.
0:43:37 > 0:43:42Now, this project, I see things like that. "Hit the ball, said Danny.
0:43:42 > 0:43:44"Hit a homerun, said the dinosaur."
0:43:44 > 0:43:47It makes me, you know, very aware.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50And I make sure, with two small sons,
0:43:50 > 0:43:52that I don't say it.
0:43:52 > 0:43:57I don't want them to grow up and say that, and say, "Well, my father said this."
0:43:57 > 0:43:59Cos that would...
0:44:03 > 0:44:05That would be the worst thing they could say.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09Good night.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13See you boys in the morning, OK?
0:44:14 > 0:44:16- Say your prayers before you go to sleep.- OK.
0:44:34 > 0:44:40By the time the survivors visited us, we had more than four times
0:44:40 > 0:44:44the number of paper clips that we originally set out to collect.
0:44:44 > 0:44:50There was not a place in this school, not even the broom closet,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53that wasn't just flooded with paper clips.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57And we were at dinner one night with the Schroeders, and conversation
0:44:57 > 0:45:01was just flowing, and Linda, just in between bites, said....
0:45:01 > 0:45:05"You know what I really wish we could have?
0:45:05 > 0:45:11"I wish that we could have an authentic German railcar
0:45:11 > 0:45:16"of the period to house our paper clips as a permanent memorial."
0:45:16 > 0:45:19And conversation just stopped.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23And we all kind of looked at each other and thought, "Oh, a railcar!
0:45:23 > 0:45:25"Oh, we have to have a railcar!"
0:45:25 > 0:45:29And the Schroeders were like, "This is the idea. We will find a railcar.
0:45:29 > 0:45:33"We promise you, we will find a railcar."
0:45:36 > 0:45:41I think when the decision was made to get the railcar and the Schroeders volunteered
0:45:41 > 0:45:45to find one, I really don't think they knew what they were getting into.
0:45:45 > 0:45:50Oh, my God, we wrote to everyone and his brother and asked him,
0:45:50 > 0:45:53"Do you know where a cattle car like this is?"
0:45:53 > 0:45:59And everyone and his brother wrote us back, "There are no such things."
0:45:59 > 0:46:04And then we decided to look for it ourselves.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07And we went on a detective tour.
0:46:07 > 0:46:11We drove 3,000 miles criss-cross through Germany,
0:46:11 > 0:46:16and went to every rail yard we can imagine.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19And, kaboom,
0:46:19 > 0:46:21we found one.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27This car has a long history.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30It was built 1917.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34Then, 1933, Nazism came
0:46:34 > 0:46:39and then it transported victims to concentration camp.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43And then it went on another journey,
0:46:44 > 0:46:50and the journey was from north of Berlin, from the Railroad Museum, to the German port of Cuxhaven.
0:46:53 > 0:46:58Well, the Schroeders called us one day at school and said that they were successful in finding a car.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01And they said it would be a short time that they would ship
0:47:01 > 0:47:04the car from Germany to the United States, to the port of Baltimore.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08Come on in, we've got chairs!
0:47:11 > 0:47:15At 10:00am on November the 9th,
0:47:15 > 0:47:19we hope to dedicate this railcar.
0:47:19 > 0:47:24'When we got to a certain point in establishing this memorial,
0:47:24 > 0:47:27'we realized we needed lots and lots of help,
0:47:27 > 0:47:31'so we said, "OK, we're going to have a community meeting." '
0:47:31 > 0:47:35Right now we have, on this property,
0:47:35 > 0:47:3927 plus million paper clips.
0:47:39 > 0:47:43We've gotta have help.
0:47:43 > 0:47:45We've got to have a parking committee.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47We have to have a landscaping committee.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50It's got to look pretty around it, now.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54We also have to figure out how to get the paper clips in there.
0:47:54 > 0:47:59You know, you're talking about 22 metric tons, you know?
0:47:59 > 0:48:04I have a hard time visualizing my fat self, much less 22 metric tons!
0:48:04 > 0:48:06OK.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08Now, we'll type these committees up.
0:48:08 > 0:48:13We'll send all of you darlings a copy, so don't you leave here till we get your address.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18If you want to see where it's going, come out here and I'll show you.
0:48:18 > 0:48:23'We had children from all the previous groups show up and they brought their parents with them,
0:48:23 > 0:48:29'and they saw that other people in the community came,
0:48:29 > 0:48:33'people they knew would be working to get this thing going.
0:48:39 > 0:48:44'This community is going to have a piece of living history
0:48:44 > 0:48:46'like no other communities have.
0:48:46 > 0:48:53'No large urban areas, nobody else has a piece of history like we're going to have here.'
0:48:53 > 0:48:59The car will sit approximately halfway between this point...
0:48:59 > 0:49:05'Sometimes when I think about this project, I think, "Who is really in charge of this project?" '
0:49:05 > 0:49:08...Can not be closer than 20 feet to that wall.
0:49:08 > 0:49:13'People who are interested in this project will call me up and say, "What's your plan?"
0:49:13 > 0:49:16'Well, I've never had a plan.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20'What do we know about building a memorial?
0:49:20 > 0:49:24'What do I know about getting a railcar from Germany?
0:49:25 > 0:49:28'I think that there's a far greater power
0:49:28 > 0:49:32'than the people at Whitwell Middle School in charge of this project.
0:49:34 > 0:49:40'And, if not, you tell me how we got this far.'
0:49:40 > 0:49:43I said, "God created the world in less than seven days," and someone said,
0:49:43 > 0:49:46"Yes, and he didn't have Linda Hooper helping him."
0:49:46 > 0:49:48LAUGHTER
0:50:16 > 0:50:21You have certain feelings when you see a car like this, and you can't
0:50:21 > 0:50:26help but remember what happened in this car some 60 years ago.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32Our work is done, I think.
0:50:32 > 0:50:36We brought the car over, and that's it.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39You think so? I don't think so...
0:50:39 > 0:50:41I hope so, I hope so.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44It will stay with us forever.
0:50:44 > 0:50:45That's possible.
0:50:55 > 0:51:01We thought, "We have seen this cattle car now numerous times."
0:51:04 > 0:51:07"We know this cattle car.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09"It can't do anything to us."
0:51:11 > 0:51:15Then you realize what this car actually means.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19THEY SHOUT INSTRUCTIONS
0:51:22 > 0:51:28This car transported people to concentration camps.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32They put in 80, 90, 110 people.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36They suffocated in these cattle cars, and one quarter of every victim...
0:51:36 > 0:51:39of all the victims were children.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46Now it is here in Baltimore,
0:51:46 > 0:51:50and then it goes down to Chattanooga and to Whitwell,
0:51:52 > 0:51:57but this will be the end of this car's journey.
0:51:57 > 0:52:01This car will not transport people any more.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05This car will be a symbol.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14TRAIN HORN HOOTS
0:52:19 > 0:52:22Symbols make us think.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28Symbols can change the world.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33And sometimes symbols are all we have
0:52:33 > 0:52:37to help us maintain our resolve,
0:52:40 > 0:52:44even on our darkest and our most tragic days.
0:53:05 > 0:53:10# Sun came up on Monday morn
0:53:10 > 0:53:15# The world was all in flames
0:53:15 > 0:53:20# It's all a mortal man can do
0:53:20 > 0:53:23# To make it right again
0:53:24 > 0:53:29# Swing and turn, Jubilee
0:53:29 > 0:53:32# Live and learn, Jubilee
0:53:37 > 0:53:41# Time has come to travel on
0:53:41 > 0:53:44# I made my way alone
0:53:44 > 0:53:51# Souls will mend at journey's end This road will take me home
0:53:51 > 0:53:55# Swing and turn, Jubilee
0:53:55 > 0:53:59# Live and learn, Jubilee
0:53:59 > 0:54:03# Swing and turn, Jubilee
0:54:03 > 0:54:05# Live and learn,
0:54:05 > 0:54:10# Jubilee. #
0:54:12 > 0:54:14When I first saw the car,
0:54:14 > 0:54:19it moved me, I mean, almost to tears.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22That's the reason I went up and laid my hands on the car to start with.
0:54:22 > 0:54:27To sort of, you know, in my mind, go over what's happened with this car
0:54:27 > 0:54:30and what it's meant to history,
0:54:30 > 0:54:32and what it means to me, personally.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43And then when it came here and I got to look inside it, it just...
0:54:43 > 0:54:45you know, it killed me.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50It's unbelievable, the thoughts that go through your head.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15I was one of the first to actually stand in the railcar.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20The floor was sort of rotten and you had to watch where you stepped.
0:56:23 > 0:56:28But just the thought of 100 people fitting in that small area is just...
0:56:28 > 0:56:30it's heartbreaking.
0:56:35 > 0:56:39And Miss Hooper got up there with me, and she just burst into tears.
0:56:43 > 0:56:47When people began to climb into the railcar, I just...
0:56:47 > 0:56:49I couldn't handle that...
0:56:51 > 0:56:55Because, to me, it had a life of its own,
0:56:55 > 0:57:01and I have never been in that car yet that I don't hear those voices,
0:57:03 > 0:57:06and feel that pain.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14It survived,
0:57:14 > 0:57:17in the face of overwhelming odds,
0:57:17 > 0:57:20and now it's come home.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26Cassie and I were standing in the car today, and we kind of had our hands on the car.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30And she said, "What would it tell us if it could talk?"
0:57:32 > 0:57:35I said, "Cassie, it would tell us
0:57:36 > 0:57:39"you're paying homage to people
0:57:39 > 0:57:43"who suffered simply because of the way they believed,
0:57:43 > 0:57:46"and because of hatred and ignorance."
0:57:48 > 0:57:50This is all about,
0:57:50 > 0:57:53not only mourning their loss,
0:57:53 > 0:57:55but celebrating their life.
0:57:58 > 0:58:02What I did think that day is,
0:58:02 > 0:58:03"From now on,
0:58:03 > 0:58:07"you will not be
0:58:07 > 0:58:09"an instrument of pain.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18"Your history as a death car is erased...
0:58:21 > 0:58:26"and now you are a car of new life.
0:58:29 > 0:58:33"And you're going to stand here, and you're going to say,
0:58:34 > 0:58:37" 'There is good in this world.' "
0:58:56 > 0:59:01From now until November 9th, it will be a work in progress.
0:59:03 > 0:59:07It's hard for me to understand the enormity of this project,
0:59:07 > 0:59:10of how many people know about it,
0:59:10 > 0:59:12you know, how far this project has reached.
0:59:16 > 0:59:20Behind each side there will be five and half million paper clips.
0:59:31 > 0:59:36And I look at these people that are right here today, and they're as excited about this as I am.
0:59:40 > 0:59:43We're doing it on a volunteer basis and...
0:59:45 > 0:59:48just for the town and for the people.
0:59:48 > 0:59:51The whole community is involved in it,
0:59:51 > 0:59:58and what little bit we can contribute, why, I'm glad to do so.
1:00:07 > 1:00:11GENTLE CHIMING
1:00:18 > 1:00:25The idea for the butterfly came when Miss Hooper told me that a
1:00:25 > 1:00:30young person from Poland had written a poem, and he lived in a ghetto.
1:00:31 > 1:00:38And he said in the poem, "I may never live to see another butterfly."
1:00:38 > 1:00:41Butterflies are a symbol of freedom,
1:00:43 > 1:00:46and they are a symbol of this project.
1:00:47 > 1:00:52When you think about all the people that died,
1:00:52 > 1:00:55I'm honouring those people with these butterflies...
1:00:57 > 1:01:01More or less honouring them with wings,
1:01:03 > 1:01:05so they can fly!
1:01:16 > 1:01:20Once we received all of the paper clips, or the paper clips slowed to
1:01:20 > 1:01:25a very manageable amount, we were well over 29 million paper clips.
1:01:25 > 1:01:29So when it came time to load the railcar with the paper clips,
1:01:29 > 1:01:32the children were extremely selective.
1:01:32 > 1:01:36We'll just start here. Alison, 4,500...
1:01:36 > 1:01:41'They wanted to be sure that gifts from as many people as possible would go into the memorial.
1:01:41 > 1:01:45'So they took paper clips from lots of different donations.
1:01:51 > 1:01:57'We decided that we should put a total of 11 million paper clips into the car.' That's good.
1:01:57 > 1:02:01'Six million to represent the Jewish people who were murdered
1:02:01 > 1:02:06'and five million representing the homosexuals, the gypsies, and the Jehovah Witnesses,
1:02:06 > 1:02:09'and all the other people known to have been killed by Hitler's regime.
1:02:17 > 1:02:22'This project had been the focus of my life for four years.
1:02:22 > 1:02:25'I was Miss Roberts, the paper clip lady.
1:02:30 > 1:02:36'But I can look at this child or this child, and if that one child's life was changed,
1:02:36 > 1:02:40'then it was worth it.'
1:03:05 > 1:03:13I think when you look at these paper clips, the purpose of it is to remember
1:03:13 > 1:03:17those lives that were exterminated during the Holocaust.
1:03:20 > 1:03:22It just overwhelms you.
1:03:35 > 1:03:40What if those people had not been exterminated?
1:03:40 > 1:03:42Who was destroyed there?
1:03:42 > 1:03:47Was it another wonderful teacher?
1:03:47 > 1:03:48Was it an artist?
1:03:50 > 1:03:55And I think of all the grandchildren that never came to be, all the children that never came to be.
1:04:07 > 1:04:11"What a wonderful way to remember the six million souls
1:04:11 > 1:04:16"that perished in Nazi death camps during World War II."
1:04:16 > 1:04:24"This especially touches me, because 51 years ago, about two weeks after the war in Europe ended,
1:04:24 > 1:04:27"I flew in as part of a rescue team to bring food,
1:04:27 > 1:04:33"medicine, medical assistance to the then recently-liberated
1:04:33 > 1:04:38"Mauthausen death camp near Linz, Austria."
1:04:44 > 1:04:48As we went by the medical centre,
1:04:48 > 1:04:52I believe that this young lady saw the mezuzah I was wearing.
1:04:52 > 1:04:56She was very emaciated.
1:04:56 > 1:05:01I would say she was probably 20 years old, my age at the time,
1:05:01 > 1:05:07but I do remember to this day her very, very large, beautiful brown eyes -
1:05:07 > 1:05:10who looked, probably, more beautiful because her face was so thin -
1:05:10 > 1:05:14and she spoke to me, in Yiddish,
1:05:14 > 1:05:19and said, "Are you Jewish?" - which I am, and she took my hands,
1:05:19 > 1:05:22clasped them and kissed them.
1:05:24 > 1:05:30As weak as she was holding my hand, I felt that it became weaker, and then we had to move on.
1:05:33 > 1:05:35And then it was time to leave,
1:05:35 > 1:05:39and I went by the medical building,
1:05:39 > 1:05:42and I asked how the young lady was.
1:05:42 > 1:05:47That's when they told me her name was Malka, and they said, "She died shortly after you left."
1:05:51 > 1:05:54And I had not mentioned this to anyone,
1:05:54 > 1:05:59even my wife and my children didn't know that story.
1:05:59 > 1:06:01I had great difficulty.
1:06:01 > 1:06:05I actually broke down and cried, and I don't cry easily,
1:06:05 > 1:06:09but that was the first time since it happened,
1:06:09 > 1:06:11that I let it out of me.
1:06:11 > 1:06:14The letter was so much of a closure for me.
1:06:15 > 1:06:21Because Malka has found a resting place, a final resting place.
1:06:21 > 1:06:27Not in Austria, not in Germany, not in Poland, but Appalachia, Tennessee.
1:06:27 > 1:06:29And I can't get over that.
1:06:32 > 1:06:36It's giving her a resting place,
1:06:36 > 1:06:40among young people who love her
1:06:40 > 1:06:42and have compassion for her,
1:06:45 > 1:06:48and you couldn't ask for a better resting place than that.
1:06:53 > 1:06:54- And... - HE COUGHS
1:06:57 > 1:06:59This one represents Malka,
1:06:59 > 1:07:02the lady at Mauthausen.
1:07:12 > 1:07:17And we're going to treat these paper clips like the children have said.
1:07:17 > 1:07:21One of them said to me, "Ms Hooper, when you touch these...
1:07:26 > 1:07:29"Can you feel the souls?"
1:07:29 > 1:07:34Well, yes, you can feel the souls, because most of them came with
1:07:34 > 1:07:39a letter that told you about the soul that paper clip represented.
1:07:40 > 1:07:48And, you know, if we accomplish nothing else, we have helped these people find a resting place
1:07:48 > 1:07:50for something that was important to them.
1:07:56 > 1:08:01So she had never displayed, never done any sculpture before.
1:08:01 > 1:08:04Oh!
1:08:04 > 1:08:07They're great. They are great.
1:08:14 > 1:08:15Oh, my God. Oh!
1:08:19 > 1:08:21Oh, my God.
1:08:27 > 1:08:29It's good. It's very good.
1:08:35 > 1:08:39It's really good. Really good.
1:09:57 > 1:10:02Now that I've had these kids and spent all these hours with them,
1:10:02 > 1:10:08I see that they have a lot of input to give, and that I was very, very quick to judge.
1:10:08 > 1:10:14I listen to what they say and I value their input.
1:10:18 > 1:10:20It's a gift to me. It's a gift to my children,
1:10:20 > 1:10:24because it's made me a better dad, better father,
1:10:24 > 1:10:26better teacher, better man.
1:10:33 > 1:10:35Good morning.
1:10:41 > 1:10:46I am so grateful to live in the United States of America.
1:10:46 > 1:10:49CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1:10:54 > 1:10:59I have such joy for all the love and the work that has gone into this project,
1:10:59 > 1:11:02and I have such pride that I live in a community
1:11:02 > 1:11:06where a group of very ordinary people
1:11:06 > 1:11:11could bring to reality such an extraordinary event.
1:11:11 > 1:11:17My heart is absolutely filled and overflowing with joy and pride.
1:11:17 > 1:11:20I love this community,
1:11:20 > 1:11:24and I love these children in this school.
1:11:26 > 1:11:30There are so many people here today that deserve a hug.
1:11:30 > 1:11:37To each one of you, we say thank you for giving your time and your talents.
1:11:37 > 1:11:43I also would like to recognize David Smith and Sandra Roberts.
1:11:43 > 1:11:45- Get up, guys. - APPLAUSE
1:11:48 > 1:11:54'I have learned more from this project than I ever could have taught.
1:11:54 > 1:11:59'It has very slowly become not about me.'
1:11:59 > 1:12:04And our Holocaust students, stand up.
1:12:05 > 1:12:07'It's about -
1:12:07 > 1:12:11'what will the students gain from this, what will they learn?
1:12:11 > 1:12:16'And what will they take from this into their future lives?'
1:12:21 > 1:12:24You will come at one time in your life - and, believe me,
1:12:24 > 1:12:29this point will come - you come to a point where you think
1:12:29 > 1:12:32everything goes wrong, nothing...
1:12:32 > 1:12:38nobody loves you, you are lost or you might be a failure.
1:12:38 > 1:12:41And, then, please come back to your memorial.
1:12:41 > 1:12:44This is what you did and accomplished.
1:12:44 > 1:12:48Come to this place, and it will uplift you,
1:12:48 > 1:12:51and I hope then you will try again.
1:12:51 > 1:12:56And I'm pretty sure that you will succeed again.
1:12:56 > 1:13:01Whitwell is a place that brings out the best of all of us.
1:13:01 > 1:13:04Thank you for that, and we love you.
1:13:11 > 1:13:15When the living say this prayer, they remember the dead.
1:13:15 > 1:13:21In remembering the dead, we remember the values that they have taught us.
1:13:21 > 1:13:25The students from the Davis Academy in Atlanta, Georgia,
1:13:25 > 1:13:27will now lead us in the Kaddish.
1:13:27 > 1:13:31Yitgaddal v'yitqaddash sh'meh rabba
1:13:31 > 1:13:36B'al'ma di v'ra' khiruteh v'yamlikh malkhuteh,
1:13:36 > 1:13:42b'chayekhon uvyomekhon uvchaye d'khol bet Yisrael
1:13:42 > 1:13:47b'agala uvizman qariv v'imru amen.
1:13:47 > 1:13:53Y'he sh'meh rabba m'varakh alam ul al'me al'maya...
1:13:54 > 1:14:00# We will not forget you
1:14:00 > 1:14:06# Don't let the sands of time erase
1:14:06 > 1:14:12# Don't let the memory disappear
1:14:12 > 1:14:20# Won't let the memory disappear
1:14:26 > 1:14:34# Don't let the memory
1:14:34 > 1:14:39# disappear. #
1:15:03 > 1:15:06DAVID: The job of collecting paper clips is over,
1:15:06 > 1:15:10but the job of educating others will never be over.
1:15:10 > 1:15:16And I think our job now is to give tours of the railcar
1:15:16 > 1:15:21and to branch off into other schools and teach our lessons of the Holocaust.
1:15:21 > 1:15:26They would stand at roll call between five and six hours to count how many people were there...
1:15:26 > 1:15:31SANDRA: When we have field trips and the teachers say, "What do we need to do?"
1:15:31 > 1:15:34And I say, "Nothing."
1:15:34 > 1:15:39You might want to take your group out to the railcar and walk them out there.
1:15:39 > 1:15:46And I say, "You're not a teacher today, you're just an observer.
1:15:46 > 1:15:48"These children will teach."
1:15:48 > 1:15:50And they teach.
1:15:50 > 1:15:55- How many people was actually here during the Holocaust? - 80 to 100 people.
1:15:55 > 1:15:59- The Norwegians wore paper clips like we're doing now?- On their collars.
1:16:15 > 1:16:19"My dear friends from Whitwell,
1:16:19 > 1:16:22"words can only inadequately describe
1:16:22 > 1:16:27"what your extraordinary project means to me,
1:16:27 > 1:16:32"a Holocaust survivor and teacher.
1:16:32 > 1:16:38"I witnessed what intolerance and indifference can lead to.
1:16:38 > 1:16:43"In a short while, I will be 95 years of age.
1:16:43 > 1:16:47"I am thankful that late in life,
1:16:47 > 1:16:53"I can see and hear that the teaching of tolerance
1:16:53 > 1:16:58"is still alive and well and bears fruit.
1:16:58 > 1:17:01"When I heard about your project,
1:17:01 > 1:17:03"I cried.
1:17:03 > 1:17:09"I cried because you are the testament that a new age has dawned,
1:17:09 > 1:17:17"the age of responsibility and the age of kindness of the heart.
1:17:20 > 1:17:23"You are living proof
1:17:23 > 1:17:28"that each and every one of us can make a difference
1:17:28 > 1:17:32"and do his part to shape a better world.
1:17:32 > 1:17:36"When you ask the young and innocent,
1:17:37 > 1:17:39"they will do the right thing.
1:17:43 > 1:17:49"With tears in my eyes, I bow my head before you.
1:17:49 > 1:17:54"Shalom, Lena L Gitter."
1:18:09 > 1:18:11I just can't wait till I get to
1:18:11 > 1:18:15college and they ask me if you've ever had a life-changing moment.
1:18:15 > 1:18:18The first thing that's going to come out of my mouth
1:18:18 > 1:18:20will be the Whitwell Middle School Holocaust project.
1:18:20 > 1:18:23I just cannot wait until that moment happens.
1:18:27 > 1:18:34In the future, when I do come back and see it, knowing that I was here to do this, it will be like...
1:18:34 > 1:18:38not just a memory, but kind of in your heart
1:18:38 > 1:18:42to know that you've changed the way people think about other people.
1:18:45 > 1:18:50To think that us, people from Whitwell, Tennessee,
1:18:50 > 1:18:53if we have made such a big difference,
1:18:53 > 1:18:56think what the rest of the world could do if they tried.
1:18:59 > 1:19:04Not only did we educate other people about the Holocaust, but we educated ourselves.
1:19:04 > 1:19:06We'll never look at a paper clip the same way again.
1:19:53 > 1:19:58# The sun came up on Monday morn
1:19:58 > 1:20:04# The world was all in flame
1:20:04 > 1:20:08# It's all a mortal man can do
1:20:08 > 1:20:13# To make it right again
1:20:13 > 1:20:18# Swing and turn, Jubilee
1:20:18 > 1:20:22# Live and learn, Jubilee... #
1:20:22 > 1:20:25Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
1:20:25 > 1:20:30# The moon came up, I stood my ground
1:20:30 > 1:20:36# And swore to not give in
1:20:36 > 1:20:40# To never rest and do my best
1:20:40 > 1:20:45# To rid this world of sin
1:20:46 > 1:20:51# Swing and turn, Jubilee
1:20:51 > 1:20:54# Live and learn, Jubilee. #