Righteous Among the Neighbors: Lynne Ravas

Righteous Among the Neighbors is a project of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh that honors non-Jewish Pittsburghers who support the Jewish community and stand up against antisemitism. In partnership with the LIGHT Education Initiative and Mt. Lebanon High School, student journalists interview honorees and write profiles about their efforts. To learn more, visit https://hcofpgh.org/righteous-among-the-neighbors.

Before retirement, Lynne Ravas, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, taught eighth grade English in multiple schools in the United States. Even though she no longer works in a school, Ravas continues to educate students on the enduring impact of the Holocaust and antisemitism.

Ravas is a recipient of the Righteous Among the Neighbors award, which is inspired by the Righteous Among the Nations program, for standing up to antisemitism through her contributions in Holocaust education.

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Ravas started teaching students about the Holocaust when she prepared her eighth grade class to read the memoir “The Diary of a Young Girl,” by Anne Frank. In preparation for the assignment, she wanted her students to know about the Holocaust so they would understand the context of the book and the reason why only one Jewish person mentioned in the book survived.

Part of that preparation was understanding her family’s story. Ravas’ father is a Holocaust survivor. When she started teaching, she began learning more about her family’s connection to the Holocaust, but even after so many years, Ravas said that there are still “unanswered questions.”

“So many Holocaust survivors suffered such trauma they didn’t want to talk about, and sometimes they felt afraid that people would judge them, so they didn’t want people to know the truth,” she said.

Ravas is now a Generations Speaker for the Holocaust Center, through which she shares her father’s story. The goal of the Generations Series is to preserve family legacies and ensure that the experiences of Holocaust survivors are not forgotten. It also provides well-researched, factual accounts of the Holocaust for future generations to hear.

As well as being a part of the Generations Speaker Series, Ravas also works with Echoes and Reflections, an organization that partners with educators to help teachers and students understand the Holocaust. Ravas attends and often leads workshops for teachers to better address topics such as the Holocaust and antisemitism.

Ravas speaks at schools to help students recognize hatred in its early forms. She believes that hatred in its earliest form — words — is the easiest to stop.

“I tell students that one single act of kindness can change the world,” she said. “You may never see it, and you may never recognize you have that power, but you do have the power to change the world.”

She also speaks to adults because they can provide guidance, such as by providing resources for children to learn more about the Holocaust. Ultimately, the goal of educating children and adults is for people to recognize hatred when they see it and be able to stand up against it.

Ravas uses the Jim Crow laws as an example. The Nazis based their anti-Jewish laws on the Jim Crow laws in the United States, where African Americans were discriminated against and had their rights restricted solely because of their race.

“I would tell my students, it’s one thing to point a finger at Europe and say, ‘Here’s what you did wrong.’ It’s another to pick up a mirror and look at our own country, and say ‘What did we do wrong?’” Ravas said. “We need students and adults to recognize that we have a history that’s not perfect, because human beings are not perfect. What can we learn from that and what can we avoid doing in the future?”

Ravas has been teaching for 46 years, both in schools and through volunteering. She points to her father as her role model, recalling how he wanted to give back to the community.

“I got to see how he interacted with people that weren’t his children, that weren’t the neighborhood kids,” she said,” and that instilled in me a desire, especially after I retired, to give back as much as I can.”

She loves speaking with schools and interacting with students, but also feels that it is a responsibility to be seen as someone advocating for a community.

“People have asked me multiple times, ‘Do you have an agenda?’ and I say, ‘Yes. I do have an agenda. I want my students to be the best possible people they can be,’” she said. “And if I can help them get there by understanding what led us to where we are today, then I’ve accomplished my agenda.”

Ravas is grateful to the Holocaust Center for organizing volunteers, but she is also grateful for the schools and organizations who request speakers, as this allows volunteers to reach students.

“I’ve spoken in retirement communities and people say that’s not the right audience, but it is because they could be talking to their grandchildren, or they could be talking to their neighbors,” Ravas said. “You never know where that spark could come from. We just keep going out there and hoping we’re lighting it.” PJC

Pam Yang is a sophomore at Mt. Lebanon High School.