Double the excellence in history, again

While twins can often mean double trouble, one family in Woodmere, the Millers, represent the opposite.

Rachel and Jonny Miller, both 14-year-old freshmen at Hewlett High School, took home first place in the senior group documentary category for grades 9 through 12 at the National History Day New York State competition. The competition was held in upstate Cooperstown on April 23 and 24.

“We were thrilled that we continued to do so well as we were advancing into more difficult competition, competing against much older competitors,” Rachel said, of how the two felt when they found out they won first place for the fourth consecutive year.

The title of their project is: “The Man in the Glass Booth: The Capture and Trial of Adolf Eichmann.” In a paper to accompany their documentary, the siblings wrote: “We chose our topic because we wanted to know who took a stand to ensure that the perpetrators of this crime had been punished.”

Taking a stand in history was this year’s theme. The siblings researched how Mossad, the Israeli government’s intelligence organization, carried out Operation Finale, a mission to capture Eichmann from Argentina and bring him to trial. Eichmann was a Nazi leader responsible for the murder, extermination, enslavement and deportation of countless Jews in the late 1930s and early 1940s. His trial was the first time Holocaust survivors testified in court. 

Dr. Christine Abajian, a history teacher at Hewlett High and the History Club advisor guided the Millers through the project. “They are hard-working, determined, and motivated,” she said. “They know that the competition requires over a hundred hours of work and they are willing to put the time in.”

They conducted several interviews including speaking with Rafi Eitan, commander of Operation Finale; Avner Avraham, a former career Mossad agent; Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, a historian; Marion Blumenthal Lazan, a Holocaust survivor and Hewlett resident; Dr. Elizabeth White, a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum historian; Mark Gelfeld, a docent from the Illinois Holocaust Museum; and Dr. Marlene Yahalom, director of Education at the American Society for Yad Vashem.

“One of the most challenging aspects of creating our National History Day documentary was finding interviews that would enhance our project,” Jonny said. Avraham was intimidating at first, but was ultimately “invaluable” to the siblings’ research, he added.

“It was great for me to see my children learn about that time period,” Risa Miller, the twins’ mother, said. “The topic is close to our hearts,” she added, noting that some of her family members died in the Holocaust. Miller also said that it was particularly meaningful to learn that her kids won on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The Millers now advance to the National History Fair at the University of Maryland in College Park from June 11 to 15. “We are making small changes to our project to improve technical things, such as the transitions or the duration of the pictures and videos,” Rachel said.

Hewlett High student, Brianna Kovit, won second place for her project entitled: “Olivia de Havilland: The Battle for Actors’ Rights in the Golden Age of Hollywood” in the senior historical paper category at New York State History Day.

Woodmere Middle School students Ariella Ziarno and Julia Klayman won first place for the junior group exhibit for grades six through eight. Their project is “Alice Paul: Suffering for Suffrage.” Gabrielle Nakkab came in third for her project, “The Tuskegee Airmen: Taking A Stand Against Racism, Segregation, & Inequalities,” in the junior individual exhibit.