The Holocaust Assembly

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

On April 7, Maple Mountain High students had the honor of hearing from Jerry Ments, Army Veteran and Holocaust victim.  Born in Holland in 1930, Ments was ten years old when Germany invaded Holland.  Because he was only half Jewish, he was not a target for the Germans.  He was forced to be the sole bread winner for his entire family, keeping them safe in an abandoned apartment.  He stole everything he could get his hands on to sell on the black market to keep his family afloat. When the war ended, his entire extended family had been killed in concentration camps in Holland. His father, mother, and brother made it out alive and lived lives after the war.

This great man was able to come from his home in Ogden to visit our school. He told the stories of the war and concentration camps to help make us more aware of the atrocities that occurred during this trying time in history.  We are very appreciative of the things he said to us and are grateful for his impactful experiences. 

Jerry Meents was born in the old Jewish neighborhood in the heart of Amsterdam in 1930. His father was Jewish, his mother was not, so he was classified by the Nazis as a "halfbreed". He was almost 10 when the Nazis invaded the Netherlands and ordered Jews to wear the yellow star. He attended school with Jewish children when they were forced out of Dutch schools. At the age of 13, he had to care for his mother and 6 siblings, as well as keep his father hidden from the Nazis. Though his immediate family survived the war, 20 members of his father's side of the family were killed in extermination camps. During his life in Amsterdam though, he witnessed, and was at times the victim, of Nazi cruelties, rules and atrocities.

Jerry emigrated to Israel in 1948 to fight in the war for independence there, then returned later to Holland and served in the army. He emigrated to the US and was a Green Beret for 3 1/2 years. As Jerry was never in a concentration camp, he is not called a Holocaust survivor. Those who lived through WWII, whether they were civilians, soldiers, liberators, or survivors, are dying across the world at the rate of 1,000/day.

It was such a tremendous experience to be able to hear firsthand about the injustices that occurred in Europe during that time period.

A big thank you goes to Mrs. Shauna Griffen who organized this assembly for our student body.

Attributions
By Justin Thorn, Ben Besendorfer, Evan Huffman and Karina Segura, MMHS Staff Writers