Visit to Auschwitz and Holocaust Foundation

Sophie and Katy gave an informative talk about their involvement in the Lessons from Auschwitz

Project run by the Holocaust Educational Trust. The programme had four steps:

1. Orientation Seminar. Attendance at the seminar in Edinburgh in October 2023 gave them an opportunity to meet the other successful candidates and heard a survivor testimony form Janine Webber. Janine gave an overview of her life and experiences during WW2 – she was born in Poland, described the German invasion and how she had lived underground for a year when she was 11 years old until her sister was able to move her to a convent near Krakow in 1942. The seminar also gave them an opportunity to learn about Jewish life before WW2 and Jewish traditions like the ‘school cone’ given to children on their first day of school.

2. Trip to Krakow, Poland in November 2023. During the trip they had a one-day visit to the camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Auschwitz was a functioning concentration camp by the end of 1940 and in 1941 the decision was made to build a sub-camp at Birkenau which later became the main extermination centre. Auschwitz was liberated on 27 January 1945, it is estimated that 1.1million people died in Auschwitz-Birkenau. When they arrived at Auschwitz they were taken through the gates the prisoners would have entered by, under the slogan “work will set you free”. They visited the museum where they saw photos of families taken to Auschwitz, they also saw the book of names which holds the details of over 4 million Jews that were murdered during the holocaust – only a small proportion of those killed. They saw possessions and clothing that were confiscated from the prisoners on arrival – including shoes, pots and pans, crutches and suitcases. In turn the prisoners received blue and white stripped pyjamas which were inappropriate for the harsh Polish winters. The girls explained that buildings simply looked like military barracks masking what happened inside them. They then took a ten-minute bus trip to Birkenau. This camp was big and wasn’t finished when the camp was liberated. Here they saw where the prisoners lived, in rooms with bunk beds where often 6 people shared a bed and the communal bathroom units which offered no privacy. They walked along the railway line that brought prisoners to the camp, heard some of their stories and saw one of the carriages that would have transported the prisoners. On arrival the prisoners were split and woman and children were sent to the left to the gas chambers and the men were sent to the right to be shaved and set to work. They finished the day with a remembrance ceremony.

3. Online seminar. This seminar gave the candidates an opportunity to reflect together on their experience, to discuss how they felt and what they had taken from their involvement in the project.

4. Spread awareness in local community. As part of the project the candidates are asked to share their experience with their local communities to spread awareness and understanding of the Holocaust. During the initial orientation seminar they were able to speak to survivor Janine and ask questions, which has allowed them to personalise the subsequent talks and presentations that they have given. This presentation was a great overview of the overwhelming experience had by the girls.