Trip to Auschwitz with The Holocaust Education Trust.

On Tuesday 2nd February 2 Year 12 history students: Chloe and Fatimah, took part in a series of seminars organised by the Holocaust Education Trust which included a one-day visit to the Nazi death camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The aim of the course is to increase knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust for young people and to clearly highlight what can happen if prejudice and racism become acceptable.

Here are some of the reflections from the Students:

Chloe: I thought it was a very special opportunity where I learned many new things. It was definitely unsettling at times but interesting too. Seeing things such as the victim's shoes, glasses and even hair really hit me, and it was surreal seeing the sheer scale of the camps. Being able to see it in real life was definitely different experience than simply seeing it in textbooks and it allows you to properly acknowledge the extent of death and loss that happened in the very place I was standing which was quite emotional.

Fatimah: Seeing the physical ruins and valuables of the victims such as women's hair, plates, glasses, shoes and luggage etc felt surreal as it was as if they were going on a trip and that they had been deceived.

Overcome with seeing the book of confirmed victims making up around 4 million Jews and around 8021 pages of still yet to be completed means that still 2 million victims are not known to the families and could possibly never be identified