STUDENTS from Hailsham Community College spoke about their experiences visiting Auschwitz at an event attended by one of the survivors of the atrocities last night (Monday).
To mark the 80th anniversary of its liberation, there was a screening of the blockbuster ‘One Life’ at the town’s historic Pavilion which heard from Ilse Cranmer, who lives locally, one of the few remaining children who survived the Holocaust.
The audience also learned of first-hand experiences from the local students who went to Auschwitz and Birkenau just a few months ago.
Ilse told Hailsham News: “I’m so delighted I’ve been invited to this event and I’m very much looking forward to answering some questions about my life. I think it’s very important for young people to know what happened at Auschwitz, as I have heard people say before that it didn’t really happen and I get very upset when I hear that, so I’m always very happy to help the next generation understand it all.”
The six students from Hailsham Community College visited Auschwitz and Birkenau as part of a project run by the Holocaust Educational Trust which runs an annual program called ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’ and sees hundreds of young people from around the UK visit the site as a day trip.
As part of the project, the attendees are encouraged to organise a community event to spread their experiences to ensure the story stays alive for future generations.
Jodie Leahy, Head of History at Hailsham Community College told us: “It is great to have the students along to tell the audience about their experiences as I feel that what happened was something horrific, but it’s something happened quite easily with lots of people turning their backs with lots of people ignoring what was going on.”
.){kind=link}