Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January marks the time in 1945 when the Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz, Poland was liberated by the allies.  Since 2011, we have been marking this day in our school.  Every year, a group of Year 12 students participate in a project run by the Holocaust Educational Trust, called Lessons from Auschwitz, where students visit the former concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau and engage with stories about pre-war Jewish life in Europe.

The theme this year is Bridging Generations, and highlights the crucial role of the next generation in preserving the memory of the Holocaust and carrying it forward. It highlights the power of intergenerational dialogue – of listening to those who came before us and of sharing those stories with those who come after. In doing so, we don’t just preserve memory – we connect it to the present.  Students heard from Holocaust survivor, Mala Tribich MBE, speaking about her experiences during the Holocaust.

As part of the 'Next Steps' project, they share what they have learnt with the wider school community in a podcast where they answer student and staff questions about their visit – about what they learnt, individual stories in particular that resonated with them, or any questions about the Holocaust and its contemporary relevance today. 

In the first episode of their Insights from Auschwitz podcast series, they share what participation in the Lessons from Auschwitz project was like, and how they envisage Holocaust education and memorialisation going forward.