"I was overwhelmed. I passed a couple of my friends coming out [of the theater] and, although it might sound sort of cheesy, we were crying and hugging each other saying, 'Thank God we're alive!' This movie makes me feel I should sit some-where for a week and contemplate life and realize how incredible our lives are -- how incredible life really is." These are the words of a senior at Roland Park Country School following a private viewing of Schindler's List. Through the generosity of two individual donors and a grant from the Jewish Chautauqua Society, the ICJS expanded its program-ming in 1994 to include Baltimore area high schools.

In January, a member of the ICJS Board presented a proposal in which he offered to underwrite the cost of taking a group of seniors from nine Baltimore independent schools to view Steven Spielberg's critically acclaimed film, Schindler's List. In response, the ICJS staff designed an educational program that had Spielberg's film as its centerpiece. It developed a discus-sion guide and engaged a number of community leaders with prior ICJS association to facilitate student discussions.

On February 3^rd, seniors from Boys Latin, Bryn Mawr, Friends, Gilman, McDonough, Park, Roland Park Country School, St. Paul's and St. Paul's School for Girls, along with faculty, administrators, and ICJS staff, attended a private viewing of Schindler's List at Towson Commons.

By all accounts, it was an extraordinary experience: seven hundred and fifty teenagers crowded into three theaters, sitting absolutely still for three and one-half hours. They left the theater -- some stunned, some teary-eyed -- to return to their campuses, where they sat in discussion groups of fifteen, together with an ICJS facilitator and school faculty member. They exchanged observations about the nature of human hatred, the importance of a sense of history for an under-standing of the Holocaust, the dynamics of heroism, what constitutes "absolute" evil, the power and possibilities of one person's "making a difference," and their tacit acceptance of alarming levels of violence in the world. They talked about scenes that had an impact on them: the random shootings, the truckloads of children forever separated from their mothers, the little girl in the red coat.

Marlene David, Director of the Bryn Mawr Upper School, typified the response from participating schools when she wrote, "The entire day was one of those experiences that defies a summary report, because it is the soul and the mind that are changed in some small way forever. Please express our appreciation to all . . . whose contribution on behalf of young people reflected how individuals can truly affect the future of the world."

In March, the Institute agreed to coordinate a similar program-ming effort with Roman Catholic high schools. The ICJS expanded its original program to include teacher training sessions, lesson plans and resource materials for student preparation prior to viewing the film, and a more extensive dis-cussion leader's guide.

Twenty-seven faculty members, representing nine area high schools (Calvert Hall, Catholic High, Cardinal Gibbons, John Carroll, Maryvale Prep, Mercy, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Seton Keough, and Archbishop Spalding), attended one of two one-and-one-half hour teacher in-service programs led by Drs. Rosann Catalano and Christopher Leighton. Reflecting on the in-service program, Pegeen D'Agostino, chair of the Social Studies department at Mercy, wrote, "I thought the teacher workshop was excellent!. . . The readings were extraordinary! We are replacing some of our readings in our [Twentieth Century History] curriculum with material from your packet."

On April 26^th, eight hundred Roman Catholic high school seniors attended a private viewing of Schindler's List, again at Towson Commons; their reactions much the same as their independent school counterparts. One Mercy High student responded, "Sometimes I wonder how such a thing like the Holocaust could have happened, how people could have stood by and let it happen. But then, of course, it's still happening in Bosnia, Rwanda; but I say, it couldn't happen here. Or could it?"

Returning to their respective campuses, students, together with a faculty member, gathered in small groups and talked about the experience: their reactions, their observations, the questions swimming around in their heads, the feelings the film evoked. They wrestled with religious questions; they pondered moral dilemmas about good and evil and the power of hatred; they recalled the moment in the film when it began to "snow" with the ashes of burning bodies; they explored the bewil-dering power of hatred and prejudice; they questioned the ambiguity and complexity of human motives; they were startled by the notion that there are no "innocent" bystand-ers; they noticed (many for the first time) the "violence" in much of the music they listen to, in so much of the sports they play, in so many of the movies they see. They were bewildered by the idea that, as one student put it, "You don't have to be a saint to do a good deed." One teacher noted, "Students who don't ordinarily participate in discussions did so without hesitation."

Many faculty participants expressed hope that the program would be repeated and might become part of their regular cur-ricular offerings. Many suggested that the teacher in-service program be videotaped for individual department use. One department chair wrote, "From my conversations with both students and teachers involved, it is apparent that this type of learning experience is vital to our students' understanding of the historic 'evil' known as the Holocaust. Even though all our students had studied this event in the twentieth century course, the film and discussion (and previewing readings) brought a new and deeper understanding."