An Upper Burrell teenager’s efforts to educate the younger generation about girls’ roles during the Holocaust is coming to fruition.
Lily Sassani, 18, will launch her Holocaust Education Patch from 5 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Chatham University’s Mellon Board Room, 5799 Chapel Hill Road, Pittsburgh.
The two-year initiative was Sassani’s project for the Gold Award for Girl Scouts, the organization’s top honor.
“It’s rewarding to know Girl Scouts will be able to have an opportunity to learn these things in a space with other girls and learn about things they may not have been able to learn about in school,” Sassani said. “It’s going to be exciting to see where it goes from here.”
The curriculum addresses the history of the Holocaust and misconceptions about it, and the role Girl Guides played. During World War II, Girl Guides — the Girl Scouts in Europe — kept morale high, fed and healed soldiers and contributed to the war effort.
Girl Guides participated in resistance efforts during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, helped women survive the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp and extinguished the fires caused by incendiary bombs during the London Blitz.
The patch will be the first Holocaust education patch for Girl Scouts in the region, she said. She hopes it is able to grow nationwide.
“There’s a side of the Holocaust that a lot of people don’t typically hear,” Sassani said. “This project is a great way to shed light on these women’s stories and honor the sacrifices made.”
Sassani worked with the Jewish Women’s Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh to develop the patch and curriculum.
The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh was the mentoring organization for the project, to help guide the development of curriculum and the patch. The Jewish Women’s Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh provided grants to support the project.
The Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania approved the curriculum and patches. The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh is responsible for administering the program and housing the patches.
“It’s an incredible project because we don’t have many educational resources geared toward students outside of the classroom,” said Emily Loeb, director of programs and education at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. “This is a really unique, exciting project of Holocaust education for us.”
Research included interviews with a Holocaust survivor, Edith Loeb Leuchter, and her daughter, Debbie Stueber, as well as Janie Hampton, author of the book “How the Girl Guides Won the War.”
It was rewarding to connect with and learn from other Jewish women, Sassani said. Growing up, she did not know anyone Jewish outside her family.
Through Sassani’s project, Scouts are also able to write a paper reflecting on what they learned, and read the “Chutz-Pow!” comic series from the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, highlighting survivors’ stories.
“It’s not just educational, but it really paints their stories in a heroic light and tells their stories well,” Sassani said.
At the end of the curriculum, Scouts are encouraged to take action, which could include volunteering at the Holocaust Center, collecting food for refugees or helping women and children’s centers.
“There’s a lot of different opportunities for troop leaders to build it for their troop,” Sassani said. “It’s really helpful for leaders to be able to build a curriculum for the group. It is a sensitive topic.”
Sassani said it was important to educate young girls on Holocaust history and the role of the Girl Guides.
Judy Cohen, executive director of the Jewish Women’s Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh, said there is a “significant gap” in public knowledge when it comes to the efforts of women and girls during the Holocaust and World War II, and especially the role of the Girl Guides.
“The Holocaust Education patch will not only raise awareness about the role of the Girl Guides but will also inspire today’s Girl Scouts to find their voices and take action against prejudice and antisemitism,” Cohen said. “Through implementing the patch program, Girl Scouts carry the lessons of the past into present-day projects, addressing social issues in their communities and emulating the courage and initiative of the Girl Guides.”
Upon graduation this spring from Burrell High School, Sassani plans to attend college and pursue a career that involves art, history or writing.
“I want people to take this information and share it with others, to make the world a more tolerant and more accepting place,” she said.
