LETTERS FROM AUSCHWITZ

Every year, our school takes part in a project called Letters from Auschwitz run by the Holocaust Education Trust. Two students from our school get the opportunity to travel to Poland and be educated about the Holocaust, or Shoah, at Auschwitz in the Polish town of Oswiecim.

At our orientation seminar, we were lucky enough to have a talk from Annick Lever, an Auschwitz survivor, who was taken to the camp when she was just 2 months old. She described her and her mother’s experience and how this has affected her later life. Annick’s talk helped us to broaden our understanding of the Holocaust, to acknowledge that those persecuted under the Nazis were from across Europe, and to recognise that the legacy of this generational trauma is far reaching.

Although Annick survived after being smuggled out of the prison by her father, her mother sadly died on the long journey to Auschwitz. Annick was motivated to become involved with the Holocaust Education Trust, so she could share her family’s experience with the next generation. We were incredibly grateful to hear her story, especially as we may now be one of the last generations to hear a Holocaust survivor speak. 

We really encourage others to read more about Annick’s story on the LFA website: https://www.het.org.uk/annick-lever 

Whilst on the trip to Poland, we both felt deeply moved by our experience in Birkenau 1 and 2. The atmosphere at both sites was heavy and emotional, but neither of us quite had the words to express how we felt in the moment. Whilst there, we went into many of the blocks in Birkenau 1, including block 27 which displayed pictures of Jewish life before prisoners were taken to Auschwitz, alongside the book of names. Both of us felt deeply moved whilst in this part of the museum, but hopeful after seeing images of Jewish survivors and the lives many of them went on to have after being imprisoned in Auschwitz.

Having heard the phrase ‘birds don’t fly’ before arriving at Birkenau 2, we were surprised just before we left to see a fox appear from the rubble of a former gas chamber. For us, this reminded us that there is hope for the future: nature has come back to what once was a site of horrific suffering and murder, and we felt this signified that there is hope for a more tolerant and welcoming future across the world.