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Jaeline Pacheco, 2nd Grade

Wax Museum May 2013
Shiloh Elementary School, Snellville, GA

Second-grade students at Shiloh Elementary School were assigned to choose and research an influential or historic figure for a “real life” Wax Museum. Jaeline chose Simone Arnold Liebster and portrayed her through costume, a speech and photos. Other students, staff, parents and friends were invited to visit the Wax Museum.

Jaeline Pacheco Work

“Hello. My name is Simone Arnold Liebster. I was born on August 17, 1930 in Mulhouse in Alsace which is a part of France. When I was a child I sewed, painted with my dad, gardened, read the Bible, and I played the piano. I also enjoyed baking and cooking and I played with my friend Frida and 3 other girls that lived in my neighborhood.

I was living a peaceful life until spring 1940 when I met a man that changed not only my life, but many people’s life. His name was Adolf Hitler. I remember a day when my friend Helene and I were riding our bikes and suddenly 2 motorcycles with side cars came down the road and a black car followed slowly behind. Quick Helene! Get out of the way and hide! We don’t say Heil Hitler! I said to my friend Helene.

Because Heil means salvation and the salute was a way of publicly confessing that salvation proceeds from Hitler but we were Jehovah’s Witnesses, and our religious convictions would not let us accept Hitler or any other man as our savior. Adolf Hitler was inside the black car. My family and I were fully aware of the danger posed by Hitler and his Nazi regime, which demanded total obedience and total submission.

In 1941 the Gestapo hunted us down arresting my dad and taking him away to a concentration camp. I had started taking painting lessons with my dad, and the day that he was arrested, we had planned to finish my painting of 3 roses. I was not able to finish my painting of 3 roses and for a long time I couldn’t even bear to look at it. On July 1943 I was taken to Wessenburg’s Reformatory for girls and on the same year my mother was taken to a concentration camp.

During my life I did many things but I am best known for being brave during hard times in Nazi Europe. Years later I married Max Liebster and later on in 1994 Max and I began traveling around Europe and North America telling our stories and urging people young and old to value life and to learn from the lessons of history. I hope you will visit your local library or surf the internet at www.alst.org and learn more about me!”