Lessons From Auschwitz
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.
Inspired to spread awareness of the holocaust with the wider school community, student ambassadors share what they have learnt in the 'Next Steps' project with 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.
Insights from Auschwitz Podcast
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.
The second episode answers questions from staff and students about the students' visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, teaching of the Holocaust at Kendrick and its current relevance.
In the third episode of this series, the Holocaust Ambassadors are joined by Miss Long, who talks about her experiences of Holocaust education, the genocide that happened in Srebrenica in 1995 during the Bosnian War, and what lessons we can draw from studying both genocides together.
Please look at the text and images on the podcast whilst listening for additional context to this conversation. There is information about the mass graves in Srebrenica – Just over 90 mass graves have been found, with the largest containing around 350 remains; however, over 350 mass graves have been found that are linked to the Bosnian war, with the largest including over 629 remains.
A Memorial Garden
As part of a longer-term project, there are plans for a memorial garden within the school. The memorial garden represents our belief that remembrance should not be confined to lessons or textbooks, but embedded into the everyday life of the school, helping us to not only remember victims, but to create an active space of reflection for current and future students.
Life Stories
To honour and remember the names, faces and lives of the victims of the Holocaust, we will display a name and life story in every classroom during Holocaust Memorial month. These life stories will serve as a poignant reminder of the privilege of freely accessing education and will highlight the indiscriminate impact of the Holocaust upon Jewish lives.
Poetry
Poetry can be especially powerful, so we are putting together a poetry anthology addressing the holocaust. This will include poetry written by Kendrick students over the past few years and other poetry addressing the holocaust to provide a range of reflections and perspectives.