Righteous Among the Nations Mural:
Irene
Gut Opdyke
The StandWithUs Holocaust Education Center is proud to partner with Artists4Israel in creating this collection of primary sources, photos, and guiding questions related to the life of Irene Gut Opdyke.
As part of its “Global Mural Project,” Artists4Israel has collaborated with prominent street artists around the world to honor “Righteous Among the Nations” – the upstanders who risked their lives to rescue Jews during the Holocaust. These murals have appeared in Greece, Portugal, New York, and now Los Angeles.
The life of Irene Gut Opdyke has been helpfully summarized by Echoes & Reflections, which has trained hundreds of thousands of educators to implement Holocaust education in their classrooms. We highly recommend you consider participating in Echoes & Reflections teacher trainings and other seminars, most of which are free and open to the public.
If you would like to work directly with one of our educators at the Holocaust Education Center, please feel free to contact:
Matt Lebovic, Director, at matthewl@standwithus.com,
Dr. Nili Alon Amit, Associate Director, at nilia@standwithus.com.
Critical questions
with primary sources:
After reading the Echoes & Reflections summary of the life of Irene Gut Opdyke, please discuss these questions, each of which has an embedded Primary Source to help you answer the question with fascinating details about Irene:
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How did Irene’s training and background impact her decision to resist the Nazis, according to her responses in this interview?
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Why do you think Irene did not speak about her wartime experiences until 1980? There is a specific, central reason she gives in the primary source.
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What key message does Irene give students when she speaks to them? What is that message based on? Please watch this testimony from Irene before answering.
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What was the “trajectory”of Irene’s resistance to the Nazis? In other words, how did her activities evolve during the war’s course? Note: the embedded biographical clip about Irene is 13 minutes.
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Interactive response: Share with us what you feel about Irene’s bravery in writing or any form of art. Some of your responses may appear on our StandWithUs Holocaust Education Center website and used in our educational programs.