Holocaust Memorial Day 2021

‘If you hear a story, you become a witness’.

On Tuesday 26 January students at LAB were given the valuable opportunity to watch a webcast organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.

The speaker was Eve Kugler, who was born in Germany in 1931 and was just eight years old when the Nazis orchestrated a wave of violence against the Jewish community in Germany; Krisatllnacht. Eve’s testimony is a deeply personal account of survival against the odds when so many other people were murdered around her for simply being who they were.

Now 90, Eve is a frequent speaker at school events and has dedicated much of her life to ensuring that the events of the Holocaust are never forgotten or allowed to be repeated. Her message to students is simple:

‘Continue to be aware and learn. Remember and don’t forget. It’s your responsibility young people’.

Millie Ford in 9E reports her reactions to the webcast:

‘When I was watching the webcast it was like someone had taken me back in a time machine and I was put in Eve's shoes, witnessing what was happening. It was like I was there trying to get to the next country, leaving my family, scared and it opened my mind to what it would have been like if I was there in that horrid time.

I have learnt more about what it was like to be a child in that time and more about what it was like from another perspective and not just the things we have learnt in the lesson. It showed me how real and scary it was’

At 8pm on 27 January, students were invited to light a candle and put it safely in a window. To Light the Darkness and remember those who were murdered for who they were. To stand against prejudice today.