As part of its annual educational programme for Holocaust Memorial Day, North West Surrey Synagogue hosted 720 pupils from four local schools.
Over two days in January, 170 students from Three Rivers Academy participated in its programme which included information about genocides which have taken place in recent times in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur, but primarily focussed on the Holocaust. They also listened to a Holocaust survivor, Annick, who has participated in our school’s programme for several years. Annick was born in France and her incredibly moving story of her experience under the Nazi régime, when at the age of just a few months her father smuggled her out of a holding prison. Her mother was taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau where she was murdered by the Nazis. Annick never saw her mother again. Her story touched the hearts of all those present.
The pupils had been asked to prepare a contribution on this year’s theme of “The Fragility of Freedom”, which they shared in their small breakout groups. This included artwork, imagined letters, poems and writings about the Holocaust. The session ended with a candle lighting ceremony when every student lit a small candle in memory of those who lost their lives in the Holocaust.
North West Surrey Synagogue have been running a Holocaust Memorial Day programme for the past eight years and have informed over 4,000 students about the genocide perpetrated by the Nazis.
Speaker Annick Lever said: “It is extremely important that students learn from history about the lessons of genocide. Human beings must always respect each other as fellow human beings, whatever our differences.”
School Group Leader Krishan Mehta said:
“It’s crucial to learn how human actions have impacted individuals, groups and societies, making links between the past and the present, and developing an appreciation that peoples’ differences are secondary to building a society based on mutual respect. This event makes students ask questions about how the present can learn from the past, and discuss this with their teachers and amongst themselves.”
