09 Feb 2025
Several hundred pupils from six different local schools gathered in the nave of St Albans Cathedral to hear from survivors of the European Holocaust.
The event took place on January 30-31, commemorating 80 years since the end of the Second World War and three days after a ceremony to mark the liberation of Auschwitz – the most notorious Nazi concentration camp where more than one million Jews were murdered.
This is the second year that this programme – initiated by The Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire Robert Voss CBE CStJ- has been held in the Cathedral.
It is organised by the Cathedral’s education team and supported by the Holocaust Education Trust, The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and The Weiner Library.
Pupils from Years 6-11 each attended two different workshops hosted by the three organisations to give them an insight into life for Jews throughout Europe before the Second World War and how the Holocaust came about.
Some of the figures provided about the Jewish communities in both East and West Europe certainly surprised many students.
All the students then gathered in the Nave of The Cathedral to hear testimonies from survivors of the Holocaust in Europe as well as the more recent genocide in Cambodia.
The Lord-Lieutenant also told the story of his own family and his grandparents who were murdered in the gas chambers. A Q & A session followed with a large number of interesting and meaningful questions for each of the speakers.
After a period of reflection, the students departed in what can only be described as stunned silence.
The Lord-Lieutenant said afterwards that he was extremely grateful to the Cathedral staff as well as the three Holocaust organisations for once again supporting the event which is hoped will go ahead again next year.
“Obviously I have a direct connection to the subject as my own parents went through this terrible time escaping Germany and arriving in Britain as refugees – and I will be ever grateful for this country for accepting them and allowing them to build their lives in the country they loved as home. It was also in memory of more than 60 members of my family who were murdered simply because of their religion.
“I feel it is so important for young people to learn about the Holocaust and the context in which it came about in the hope that humanity will never again allow such a terrible and tragic time as happened in our recent history.”
