Students and staff came together to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day which is internationally recognised each year on 27th January, the date on which Auschwitz was liberated in 1945.
In a weeklong programme of activities, each year group received a special assembly delivered by Head of History, Miss Tappenden (Years 7-11) and Mr Pycroft (Sixth Form) which focused on the 2023 HMD theme ‘Ordinary People’. The assembly featured the tragic story of Trochenbrod, a Polish town (present day Ukraine) which helped students understand how ‘ordinary’ people in ‘ordinary’ places can become victims of hatred, discrimination and persecution. Miss Tappenden also took the opportunity to showcase the extraordinary work undertaken by students participating in ‘The Holocaust, Their Family, Me and Us’ project, by sharing a short video prepared by project founder, Nicola Wetherall MBE.
A specially designed form time programme also encouraged students to reflect upon how ‘ordinary’ people became perpetrators, collaborators, bystanders, and rescuers, as well as victims. This was supported by a weeklong mini exhibition in reception. On Friday to mark HMD, all students in school wrote a short reflection about what they had learned, or a pledge for what they would do moving forward to ensure the Holocaust remains an important part of their education. Reflections were written onto luggage labels and will be used to create a ‘thought tree’ in reception, as a visual representation of collective thoughts and reflections from across the school.
There was also a unique and special opportunity for students participating in the HtFMeUs project this week as they attended an online discussion with Robert Rinder MBE and his mother Angela Cohen MBE. Joining other schools following Angela and Robert’s journey, students were able to hear more about how the pair discovered and confronted their family history, and the devastating impact that the Holocaust had on the Malenicky’s of Piotrkow, Poland, and the Lewin’s of Divenishok, Lithuania. Willam Morgan in Year 10 and Isabella Stokes in Year 9 had the privilege of asking Robert and Angela a question on behalf of the school and wanted to know whether they were able to view the perpetrators and collaborators of the Holocaust as ‘ordinary people’ after learning of the atrocities committed against their own families.
As part of their commitment to the project students prepared a short video, outlining their journey so far and making a pledge to Robert and Angela to bear witness to their family story.
The week was also marked by several other special events, including special displays in LRCs on each floor organised by school librarian Miss Hallam, who also compiled a special HMD reading list accessible to all staff and students. At 2pm on Friday, students in Humanities classes were given the opportunity to hear from Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich, in an online session organised by the Lieracty Trust, which also featured author Tom Palmer – an author very familiar to History Book Club.
The week concluded with the spectacular illumination of the school building in purple lighting at 4pm on 27th January as part of the international ‘Light the Darkness’ campaign. It has been a truly special and significant week of events which underpins our continued school commitment as a UCL Beacon School in Holocaust Education, and school wide ethos of embedded Holocaust and Genocide education to support equality and diversity, and tackle prejudice and discrimination. Events will continue to take place throughout the year, with 6 Year 13 students partaking in the ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’ programme organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust – inclusive of a day visit to Auschwitz, and school visits from the Anne Frank Trust, who will work with students in Years 7-9 throughout the summer term. Outcomes from both projects will be showcased alongside outcomes from the HtFMeUs project in July this year.
