Testimonials
"Rachael Cerrotti brings a powerful, personal, and deeply relevant voice to any community wanting to grapple with our global past and with heartbreaking current events. Her combination of extensive knowledge of World War II and her grandmother’s journeys is matched by her passion for justice for displaced peoples today. I have seen her work with both adults and teens, and would highly recommend bringing her in to teach and/or present. She will tailor her material to your community’s needs, and use multimedia resources to draw in and engage participants." - Rabbi Shoshana Friedman, Temple Sinai of Brookline
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She is a talented speaker, a determined researcher, an active learner, an engaging teacher and has a natural gift for storytelling. With people like Rachael teaching the next generation, one can only be optimistic about that the students of today and tomorrow will not just learn history, but learn from history. - Bent Melchior, Chief Rabbi Emeritus of Denmark, Author & Holocaust Survivor
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"Rachael presented herself to the class as an open book. It was like I was able to read her for days... She made me believe the impossible is possible while listening to her journey of her retracing her grandmother's footsteps." - University Student, Moore College of Art
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"Rachel brings an authentic and passionate voice to her audience who are eager to learn about past injustices and their relevance to our current political situation in the United States.With her vivid description of the places where her grandmother found refuge, members of her audience can readily identify with the young Jjewish woman depended on the generosity of stranger during the Holocaust. I recommend Rachel highly as a speaker for young students as well as adults." - Anna Ornstein, psychoanalyst and Holocaust survivor
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"While listening to Rachael, it made me think about how my ancestors were forced to become slaves and then in the end, owned the plantation. My family's story is similar to Rachael and Hana's because I can go back to the plantation in Georgia and "walk" my ancestors footsteps just like Rachael is still doing for Hana." - University Student, Moore College of Art
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"Rachael brought a new light to the teachings and understanding of both World War II and current events by helping us connect through our own experiences and relationships as well as hers. Over the course of the class we learnt not only why certain events occurred but how they are still relevant today, and what that means for us. By teaching with compassion and flexibility Rachael provided a deeply moving way to examine the events of the past and present, and to look towards the future." - 8th Grade Student, Temple Sinai of Brookline
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"We invited Rachael to share with us her project, We Share The Same Sky, as part of our ongoing Adult Education program. Her research and methods made it an engaging and insightful interactive presentation and discussion. What was of particular value was her observation regarding displaced people during and following World War II and how applicable it is to the world we find ourselves in today. It reinforces the old concept that, if we fail to learn from history, we are condemned to repeat it's mistakes. - Ed Nathan, President of Beth Chaim Reform Congregation
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"We have had the deep pleasure of hosting Rachael three times at Moore College of Art to present her powerful account of her grandmother's perilous journey during the Nazi Era. For Rachael, speaking to an upperclass group of female visual artists, who are studying the Holocaust, is natural. What has evolved in her presentation —and in how my students relate to it— is a human story of family, of intergenerational ties, and her search to understand her growing connection between past and present. By tracing Hana's journey, Rachael has formed her own bonds with the descendants of Hana's rescuers and fellow refugees. Her natural ability to connect with these people uncovered their internal beauty, only matched by the requisite nature of the landscape she photographs." - Josey Fisher, Faculty at Moore College of Art and Director of the Holocaust Oral History Archive at Gratz College
“My father always banged into our heads to LEARN, LEARN, as they can take everything away from you, but not what you have in your head.”
Hana in school in Prague in 1931. Before fleeing Czechoslovakia she had attended both a German-speaking school as well as a French-speaking school making her trilingual by the time she became a teenager.