Each year, around the 27th January, the day when Auschwitz the largest Nazi concentration camp was liberated, we invite year 9 students from all the secondary schools in Richmond to come to the synagogue for a special half day event.
At these events the students hear first hand from survivors of the holocaust and their immediate family members their stories – the horrors their family endured and how they survived. The students see films that illustrate how young people endured the holocaust and engage in a workshop to understand the progression of events during the Nazi repression, illustrated by the Nuremberg laws, and have the opportunity to engage with the speaker ask them questions and express their feelings about what they have seen and heard.
Here are a very few of the reactions of students from one of last year’s events when the principal speaker was Agnes Kaposi, who as a teenager endured hard labour in various camps during the Holocaust and later came to England and became a distinguished engineer.
Dear Agnes, hearing your story made me feel….
“…you had to sacrifice so much for just a chance at surviving and I could never be able to relate to your horrible experiences. You bargained so much for your freedom and it really makes me understand how fragile it is. I feel so much sympathy for you and you will be a massive role model for me and your story will remind me to help others in my future whenever I can. Your story showed me how lucky and fortunate I am.”
“…lots of people have suffered unnecessarily because of their religion. I am hopeful that people will not have to go through things like that although I know that they might. I am thankful that there are people out there helping others and making sure they have a safe life.”
“…thank you so much for sharing your story with me. I promise I will not forget it, I will always share it with others when I can so they can also understand the horrific events of the Holocaust. I also realise how lucky I am to have grown up in a good, kind society. I will never take that for granted.”
These are but a few of the many, many comments we have from the close to 850 students who attended one or other of the events we held over a 10 day period in January 2024.
For more information contact administrator@richmondsynagogue.org.uk
