Two King's Pupils Take Part In Valuable Holocaust Education Trust 'Lessons From Auschwitz' Course

An incredibly valuable time was experienced by two King's pupils taking part on the Holocaust Education Trust, 'Lessons from Auschwitz' course, writes Lottie (L6^th Form, Wellesley House).

Over the past few weeks, Kitty and I have been lucky enough to be a part of the Holocaust Education Trust, Lessons from Auschwitz course. The LFA course is a journey of learning and exploration about the history of the Holocaust. The course included an orientation seminar, where we discussed Jewish life before the war and heard from a Holocaust survivor. We also took part on a one-day visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The main aim of the Holocaust Education Trust is to re-humanize the Jewish victims of the Holocaust and to remember that each of the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust had their own individual story.

During the orientation visit, we heard a moving testimony from Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich MBE, about her life before the Holocaust and the time she spent in the concentration camps of Ravensbrück and then Bergen-Belsen before it was liberated by British troops in 1945. It was truly incredible to hear Mala’s story, and it gave us a deeper insight into the lives of the Jewish people before, during and after the Holocaust.

The next step was the trip to Poland on Wednesday 1^st March. We visited a museum in the Polish town of Oświęcim, which was renamed Auschwitz by the Nazi’s when they invaded Poland. The museum focused on the Jewish people of Oświęcim and their lives before the Holocaust. We then visited two out of the three concentration camps that make up Auschwitz: Auschwitz I, the main camp, and Birkenau; the third camp, Buna-Monowitz, has been destroyed. The prisoner barracks at Auschwitz I have been turned into exhibitions of the many belongings of the Jewish people, such as shoes, suitcases and hairbrushes, all of which were taken away from the Jewish people upon their arrival at Auschwitz. It was particularly moving seeing these belongings, as it helped us to understand the concept of re-humanization of the Jewish people. We next visited Birkenau, which was about 3km away from Auschwitz I. Birkenau is around twenty times the size of Auschwitz I, and, unlike Auschwitz I, which was partly a labour camp, Birkenau was designed solely for the purpose of exterminating the Jews. During our visit at Birkenau, we participated in a poignant memorial service in remembrance of the 1.2 million Jews killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The whole experience of the Lessons from Auschwitz course has given us a new perspective on the Holocaust. Now, we understand the importance of remembering that all of those involved in the Holocaust, not only victims, but also perpetrators, bystanders and collaborators, were all human beings, and each had their own story. The saying ‘seeing is not like hearing’ is truly appropriate when talking about Auschwitz-Birkenau, as it is difficult to understand the importance of remembering the victims of the Holocaust without first visiting the authentic sites where so many had their lives taken from them.

Lottie Gould - L6^th Form, Wellesley House