Saint John Vianney junior, Reilly Groder of Cliffwood, is participating in the Adopt-A-Survivor Program.

The Adopt-A-Survivor program is run through the Jewish Community of Metro West and helps connect local youth with Holocaust survivors. Reilly has partnered up with Holocaust survivor, Mr. Fleischmann of Edison. The two will meet over time and discuss his experiences during the Holocaust. It is a great way for young youth to learn the history of the Holocaust and how it has continued to affect society today.    

The Nazis, who came to power in Germany in January 1933, believed that Germans were "racially superior" and that the Jews, deemed "inferior," were an alien threat to the so-called German racial community. Mr. Fleischmann and his family were able to escape Europe and arrived in the United States in 1941. By the end of the Holocaust in 1945 millions of people were killed.

Mr. Fleischmann has provided Reilly with a wealth of
information on the origins, implementation, and ramifications of the Holocaust. Mr. Fleischmann has taught Reilly that a good rule of thumb to follow to prevent further atrocities on the scale of the Holocaust is, “If you see something, say something, don't stand by when an
injustice is being perpetuated.” 

Reilly’s own view on the Holocaust is that, “It is also
important to remember that it wasn’t just the Jewish people that were persecuted. Countless others were
persecuted by Hitler because of their religious or social convictions, and the Russians murdered somewhere near ten million of their own people. After college, I want to teach people about the Holocaust because it’s possible it
could happen again.”

Reilly will be graduating SJV in 2013 and hopes to study
education in college. She is the co-vice president of the Future Educators of America Club and is a member of the National Honors Society.