Holocaust Memorial Day

Staff and students came together today on Holocaust Memorial Day, the international day on 27 January, which marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp.

Year 9 students gathered in the Gate Theatre to watch a special webinar hosted by children’s author, Tom Palmer. The event included special guest, Ruth Barnett and her experience of travelling to England as part of the Kindertransport. The Kindertransport was a rescue effort during 1938 and 1939 which saved around 10,000 children from Nazi-controlled Europe. Many of these children were Jewish and under 17 and were sent by train to safety in the UK to live with foster families.  Ruth explained how she was sent to the UK aged just four, to escape the Nazis because of her father’s Jewish background and described some of her early memories of Germany, and how she grew up a farm girl, in rural southern England, not knowing for sure if her parents were alive or dead.

The special day helps us to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered, and the millions more murdered under Nazi persecution.  We also learn and commemorate where persecution led in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust encourages remembrance in a world scarred by prejudice and systematic, targeted persecution. 

One year 9 student said: “It was really sad hearing Ruth’s experiences and at such a young age. It made me realise how lucky we are.” Another added: “I felt really sad hearing Ruth talking. She had such a rough childhood.”

Each year group will attend an assembly led by History teacher, Mr Marsh looking at what Holocaust Memorial Day means and why it is still important today.  The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust state their aim is to “bring people together to learn more about the past, empathise more with people today, and work to build a better future.  Together we bear witness for communities who suffered attempted annihilation, and honour the survivors and all those whose lives were changed beyond recognition.”