Eve Stanners and Jake Fitzpatrick, Year 9
The day began with an assembly. Mr. Charlton from the Holocaust Educational Trust spoke to us about the issues surrounding the Holocaust, and the fact that many of these issues still affect modern day events. We learnt about the significance of equality and how maintaining belief in human rights is so important. I thought the assembly was very informative, and helped me gain a better understanding of the Holocaust effects.
We then went to a variety of lessons in which we reflected on the Holocaust. In English we compared the Holocaust with the plight of refugees escaping from Syria today. Our fellow students were involved in preparing a Liturgy for the Commemorative Evening whilst students in Art were making replica suitcases for display on the evening. In German, students studied the impact of the Nuremberg Laws, another group looked at Nazi propaganda with the Librarian and in History they studied the event by analysing photographs. As well as being a thought-provoking day, students were engaged in practical activities; Music students were composing music for a performance and Food Tech made bread using a Jewish recipe, whilst in Science students looked at the effect of the diet in the concentration camps. Mr. Charlton also delivered lessons on Collaborators, Perpetrators, Bystanders and Rescuers / Resisters.
We finished the day with a real sense of what the holocaust had been like and the relevance it continues to have in today’s world.