Students Hear from Holocaust Survivor

Holocaust Memorial Day takes place each year on 27th January. This date was not chosen at random - it was on this date in 1945 that the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps were liberated, and today we use the date to remember the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside more recent victims of genocides in countries like Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia & Darfur.

Holocaust Remembrance Day is a time to reflect on a dark chapter in history, when genocide and crimes against humanity devastated Europe. By teaching our students about the atrocities of WWII, organisations like the Holocaust Memorial Trust inspire understanding, tolerance, and friendship amongst nations, races, and religions, helping us build a brighter, kinder future together.

This week our Sixth Form students were incredibly fortunate to be able to hear from one of the few remaining holocaust survivors, 89 year old Mala Tribich. Mala's story of resilience and optimism was live-streamed to schools and colleges across the UK when she was interviewed by journalist Natasha Kaplinsky.  

Natasha encouraged Marla to speak about the loving home and normal life she experienced in Poland before the outbreak of WWII, and how things changed for her entire family when they were rounded up and moved to the ghetto established in her home town. Deportations to concentration camps started soon after this and members of Mala's extended family were murdered, including her mother and younger sister.

In November 1944, Mala and her cousin were deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp and students heard how, on arrival, all her possessions were taken, she was undressed, her head shaved, she was showered in icy water, and given a striped skirt and jacket to wear. "You can not imagine how it feels to  have your personality taken away from you" she said. Ten weeks later Mala was moved again, this time to Bergen-Belsen, and she described the horror of seeing people who looked like skeletons collapsing and dying in front of her, piles of bodies around the camp, and the smell and smog which accompanied the sights.

Bergen-Belsen was liberated by the British Army on 15th April 1945, and 80 years on Mala is keen to highlight what can happen when civilization breaks down and has dedicated her life to sharing her story.

You can watch Mala speak about her hopes for the furure in the short film below which was recorded in 2021.