Students return from profound Auschwitz visit
‘Education is not knowing that Hitler murdered 6 million Jews in WWII. Education is trying to understand what led ordinary people to commit such atrocities against other people so that it never happens again. So tell everyone our story’. (Jewish tour guide).
Thanks to Holocaust-Awareness.org and the Chesterhill Charitable Trust, Finham students returned from a trip to Auschwitz I and II this week. The experience was a meaningful one which reinforced the responsibility to share the stories and experiences of those who were targeted, murdered and abused for their differences.
Jews were the main target of the Nazis, and the greatest number of victims of the Holocaust were Jewish. Nearly seven out of every 10 Jews in Europe were murdered because of their identity (6 million). The Nazis also killed other groups of people, including Roma and disabled people. They arrested and took away the rights of other groups, like gay people and the Nazis' political opponents. Many of them died as a result of their treatment.
The 13-minute film below captures the students' experience
‘Those that cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it’ (George Santayana)
‘Auschwitz is a powerful reminder of the unimaginable’
'The most important questions have no answer'
‘Hate is a disease. It destroys others and will also destroy you. If you don’t learn from our experience, we have no future.’ (Holocaust survivor)
‘It happened, therefore it can happen again… it can happen anywhere’ (Primo Levi)
