Photo West Milford Sol Rosenkranz is a 93-year-old survivor of six concentration camps, including Buchenwald in Germany. Leo Lowy is a Holocaust survivor who lives locally in Cedar Crest Village. Leon Bass is an African American World War II veteran who bore witness at Buchenwald. Judita Hruza is a Hungarian survivor of a forced march. And all of these individuals recently touched the lives of West Milford High School students. West Milford High School teacher Jennifer Metcalf planned several field trips over the course of the 2010-11 school year, to allow students access to, what she calls, “these amazingly precious resources.” Students like freshmen Sophia Oselador and Katia Brule comment, “Hearing someone’s story is so different from reading an account out of a book.” Of their visit with Leo Lowy, their only negative comment was that the time was too short. Lowy’s story is one of courage and hope, features which resonate deeply with teenagers. As an orphaned child held at Terezin near Prague, he and his peers produced an illegal, and therefore dangerous, underground newspaper. Students in Metcalf’s Holocaust and Genocide Studies courses spent the day in New York City recently, starting with a visit to the Museum of Jewish Heritage where they met with Rosenkranz. Filled with boundless energy, the 93-year-young survivor told stories of making life-saving decisions as he and his cousin navigated the terror of the Holocaust. “Because we already studied the Lodz ghetto, we know how hard it was to survive,” said David hervey, a student in the class. “That Mr. Rosenkranz survived is really a miracle.” After the museum visit, the students “sailed” back to New Jersey via the Statue of Liberty. The museum puts a big emphasis on the “future,” using the Statue as a symbol of American tolerance. Senior Shannon Johnston said, “It seemed fitting that we should go both to Trinity Church and the Statue of Liberty, as they both speak of 'overcoming hardships’,” said senior Shannon Johnston. “I know that the stories of survivors like Rosenkranz and Lowy, Bass and Hruza, will stick with the kids, and that they will 'bear witness’ in the future,” said Metcalf.