School remembers holocaust

HIGH school students explored the dreadful events of one of the most horrific episodes in world history through a day of drama, art, and music.

Members of the gifted and talented year ten set, along with some sixth formers at Deben High, in Garrison Lane, Felixstowe, commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day with a series of special workshops and activities.

Groups of pupils from Thomas Mills, Holywells, Farlingaye and Orwell High also took part.

The day began with an art exhibition of A-level work inspired by the artists of the Terezin Ghetto, followed by a dance and drama performance Arbeit Macht Frei, a powerful overview of the Holocaust.

Seminars involved pupils researching the story of Frank Bright, 78, of Felixstowe, a survivor of Auschwitz labour camp, where more than a million people were killed in the largest mass murder ever recorded.

Mr Bright, who has been researching what happened to his school friends from the war years, was forced to watch as his mother was led away to the gas chambers - he, then aged 16, was spared because the Nazis decided he was fit to work.

Mr Bright spent just a week in Auschwitz and recalled watching inmates from being made to walk the “death march” to other concentration camps as the Nazis grew fearful of the Allies' advance, with he and other workers being left to bury the dead.

A Deben High spokeswoman said: “It was an interesting and poignant experience for all those involved, and the materials used on the day will form the basis of a new unit being created for Suffolk history teachers to use in the classroom.

“As the sheer scale and horror of the Holocaust can become a rather numbing experience for us all, the use of individuals and how their experiences inter-relate can become a very valuable, powerful teaching tool.”

Is it important to teach today's youngsters about the Holocaust? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk