The  Mitzvah Project

Educator Testimonials: Oct. 2020 – Mar. 2022

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“Roger Grunwald’s Mitzvah Project is extraordinary. From their comments after Mr. Grunwald’s presentation, it’s clear that my students were able to make the critical connection between the racism, anti-Semitism and white supremacy of today’s world and the roots of prejudice and hatred that gave rise to the Holocaust. Bravo!” — Jack Chan, Assistant Principal, New Utrecht High School, Brooklyn, NY

 

“The Mitzvah Project is an engaging and riveting look at the Holocaust. You’ll feel captivated by each character’s distinctive story. My students made relevant connections to today’s current events. They were also inspired by the creativity of both the performance and presentation. As a high school Global History teacher, I highly recommend The Mitzvah Project to educators and students.”   — Amanda Glantz, New Utrecht High School, Brooklyn, NY

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“Mr. Grunwald’s presentation was unique, powerful… and vivid. As a history teacher, I especially found the connections he made between the United States’ Jim Crow Laws, the Eugenics movement, and the Nuremberg Laws to be extremely important. The Q & A session was an excellent opportunity to connect the lessons of the Holocaust to contemporary issues." — Shanna Hechimovich, Arrowhead High School, Hartland, WI

 

“Roger's visit to Brooklyn Tech was captivating, inspiring, and educational. His performance, lecture, and Q & A had a tremendous impact on our community and helped students connect content taught in the classroom with a powerful and real-life connection to the past. I recommend Roger and the Mitzvah Project for any educator interested in bringing Holocaust awareness to their school or classroom.”   — Gus Trombetta, Assistant Principal of Social Studies and Music, Brooklyn Technical High School, New York

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“The Zoom Mitzvah Project is a powerful multimedia experience that transcends time and place. Grunwald's exploration of his family's past provides a pathway to explore our present and future. Our students were taken aback at the clear connections between the Holocaust and… issues we face today, encouraging this next generation to take action against oppression... The question-and-answer portion of Grunwald's presentation showed the lasting effect of The Mitzvah Project – inspiring curiosity, compassion, and civic engagement in our youth.” — Dr. John M. Moore, Shaker Heights High School, Ohio

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“The Mitzvah Project powerfully illustrates the terrible consequences of ‘othering’ that led up to the Holocaust and draws important parallels to modern-day examples of bias.”   — Becky Sanchez (Ethnic Studies/History Coach) and Alan Sheppard (History/Social Science Curriculum Leader), Long Beach Unified School District, CA

 

“The Zoom Mitzvah Project was an inspirational, haunting, and eye-opening learning experience. Many of my students wrote to Mr. Grunwald expressing how empowered they felt afterwards and how he inspired them ‘to do their best to fight racially driven injustice, anti-Semitism and violence in the US.’” — Michaela Grobbel, Ph.D., Sonoma State University, CA

 

“Roger Grunwald’s The Mitzvah Project… is most successful educational program we have offered in pandemic times.” — Donald Berry, PhD, Gulf Coast Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education, Mobile, AL

 

“The Zoom Mitzvah Project is a very moving and powerful combination of performance and lecture… it should be presented in many schools and institutions so young people can learn and be aware of the dangers of racism and religious intolerance… Highly recommended.” — Dorith Endler, German Instructor, Mountain View Los Altos Adult School, CA

 

“Roger Grunwald … has… created a compelling, moving and important work – The Mitzvah Project, – which he presented on Zoom to at Hofstra University [included] valuable supporting materials that enriched the students’ understanding.” — Cindy D. Rosenthal, Ph.D., Professor of Drama and Dance, Hofstra University, NY

 

“Mr. Grunwald’s conversation/presentation — and the Q & A session — was fascinating and engaging and a great opportunity and experience for our students.”— Laura Myrah, Superintendent, Arrowhead Union High School District, Hartland, WI

 

“The [Mitzvah Project] presentation was uniquely engaging and the post-performance discussion hit key elements of anti-Semitism and wove it well into the broad societal challenge of discrimination and radicalism. I have seen many discussions that quickly lose their edge on anti-Semitism when they attempt to apply it generally – this did not.” — David Sondheim, Principal, Redwood High School, Larkspur, CA