Counter Stories

A counter story is a method to see and observe the stories and experiences of those who didn't have a voice. In most times we are taught in our history classes of what went down through history. We learn of all the significant events, the allies, enemies, and changes that went occurred. However in the history books at school there never is a lesson in what was going on with the other side. Doesn't anyone ask: “Why does that country hate us; or why is the US is not popular in certain countries?’’ Counter stories serve the purpose to educate us; to learn the details and fill in the missing gaps which can show the reason why things happened. In class when I read Winston Churchill’s degrading statements of other races, I was shocked. In history class Churchill was regarded as a war hero in Britain, but here I saw him as just another white man making degrading comments.  Once you look at something from a different view there is a chance to understand the other side. After all there are two sides to a coin. 

Anne's Diary is an example of a counter story as seen through the eyes of a young Jewish girl in hiding from the Nazis.