On Wednesday the school commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day and our History department shared an assembly focusing on the less well-known aspects of the life and death of Anne Frank.

In normal circumstances, the department would be running the annual Year 10 and Year 12 History visit to Krakow and Auschwitz, exploring the themes of the Holocaust in greater depth. On their last visit, they spent time wandering around Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter of Krakow and took in the Schindler Museum, which gave an overview of Poland’s suffering during German and Soviet occupation.

The second day was devoted to visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau, with an experienced tour guide, exploring the different aspects of the camps. Their Anglia tour guide, Roger, took them to the Lake of Ashes, where students were able to reflect on the day and a Jewish prayer was offered. On the following day, they met a Holocaust survivor at the Galicia Museum. Born to Jewish parents, she was just a baby when her parents took the heart-rending decision to save her life by placing her in the hands of another local family. She found herself concealed from the Nazi authorities in a nunnery in Krakow before being adopted by a Polish Christian family who swore to hide her identity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We would encourage anyone who wants to explore the Holocaust further to visit Anne Frank House and, for older students, the wonderful resources on the Imperial War Museum site.