Tribute to Students
You have been a major focus point from start to finish as we created this book. So many of our Spungen Family Foundation meetings and discussions with friends and associates revolved around you! Any question asked of us about the book was answered with students in mind. But what defines a “student?” In some sense, we are all students—especially when it comes to a topic as complex and far-reaching as the Holocaust. As we considered our target audience for the book, all we knew for sure was that we must engage students—and try to embrace as many students as possible.
The Spungen Foundation “sweet spot” for education is high school and university students who have the opportunity to view our Holocaust collection and exhibits in person at their schools, libraries, places of worship, and other venues where we are invited to exhibit. Given that this book is being completed during the COVID-19 era, we must also include students who view our exhibits virtually.
When we started this book project, we avoided discussions about cost. We focused instead on offering more than just a book. We focused on unusual features like the die-cut cover and special inserts for collectors to add their own Operation Bernhard notes and genuine Bank of England notes of the WWII era. These features added significantly to the production cost of the book. It is worth it to us if the quality, content, and design inspire you to become more interested in this chapter of history, as well as the process of “writing history.” And of course, we hope you will also become interested in the world of collecting! The great news is that friends of the Spungen Family Foundation were very happy to contribute to the first printing of the book, knowing that 100% of their donations would go toward making the book more affordable for you. In this special project, we wanted all parties to literally be “on the same page” in understanding and supporting this student-focused goal. Therefore, we asked friends of the foundation to make donations as an investment in you, your fellow students, and in education. Here are the names of students these donations have supported so far:
Robbie S. | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2022)
Matthew M. | Purdue University (2022)
Gabriel E. | University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (2023)
Federike N. | High School Student, Germany (2022)
Ernie S. | University of Toledo (2022)
