Lessons from Auschwitz

TWO students from Sir John Deane’s College have taken part in the Lessons from Auschwitz project which is run by the Holocaust Education Trust.

As part of the project Robert Ward and Charlotte Austin visited the former Nazi extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, in Poland, in November.

Anne Cooper, SJD tutor who arranged the trip, said: “This is the second year that our students have been involved in this project which is a life-changing experience.”

The project includes sixth form students from across the UK and involves two seminars and the visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau – in order for those taking part to pass on the lessons of the past in their schools and communities.

Robert and Charlotte were chosen from many students who completed the selection process, which included writing a 250-word application piece.

Afterwards Robert said: “The Lessons From Auschwitz Project provided me with an experience I will never forget. The fact that I was able to witness where such a pivotal and horrific historic event took place was quite surreal. To be where it happened and to walk the same paths that the victims walked was chilling, but this is really the only way that as a person, you can grasp the true nature of what actually happened there.

“For me, I think the most shocking part of the experience was the sheer scale of the Auschwitz 2 camp and the organised nature of it. Each building was perfectly aligned to the other.”

Robert Ward and Charlotte Austin with SJD tutor Anne Cooper.