By Josephine Chan

On the 30^th October 2018 I went to Auschwitz-Birkenau as part of one of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s projects, known as ‘Lessons From Auschwitz’, which aims to educate every person from every background in the UK about the Holocaust and its contemporary relevance. In retrospect, before going on this trip I didn’t know what to expect because visiting a site of genocide wasn’t something I thought I’d get an opportunity to do. One of the key messages that was repeated to us was “We learn from history that we do not learn from history”, a quote from Georg Hegel, a German philosopher. To me, this is a simple but very powerful quote because it is open for personal interpretation of what it means and illustrates that we should never commit previous events such as the Holocaust because it will leave an everlasting impact.

At the seminar prior to the trip we had the opportunity to listen to the testimony of a Holocaust survivor, Eva Clarke, who was born in Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria on the 29^th April 1945; Mauthausen was liberated on the 5^th May. She told us that if the gas chambers hadn’t been blown up on April 28^th and the Americans hadn’t liberated the camp days after she was born, both herself and her mother wouldn’t have survived. I think that we are very lucky to have an organisation such as the Holocaust Educational Trust, who bring in survivors who are willing to share their testimony because we are living in a time period where there are still survivors alive and the future generations won’t have that.

“We learn from history, that we do not learn from history”

When we arrived at Auschwitz, we had the opportunity to explore the blocks that used to house those imprisoned by the perpetrators and the most profound moment for me was when I saw the room where some of the hair that was shaven from the women were kept. As humans we identify so much with our hair and to have it stripped from us would be like robbing us of our identities. This shows that the perpetrators were metaphorically trying to remove those victimised from existence and this is harrowing because the victims were never given a choice. There was another room which housed the suitcases and items of clothing belonging to the victims, including shoe polish and sets of house keys and this was very upsetting because the victims genuinely thought that they would one day return home. One of the most impactful experiences for me was when we went to see the last remaining gas chamber in Auschwitz because although I knew it was real, it just felt really unfathomable because so many people had been murdered there thinking they were going to shower.

On reflection of this journey, I have learned so much more about the Holocaust and it really has been an eye-opening experience. A message that I took from the seminar after the trip was ‘never forget’, highlighting that although the reality of the Holocaust was horrifying, we should never forget what happened as it will act as a reminder of what should never happen again.

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If you would like to know more about Auscwitz-Birkenau or the work of the Holocaust Educational Trust please follow the link below.

Holocaust Educational Trust: Lessons From Auschwitz

By Ava Hughes

Scotland’s First Minister took time out of her jam-packed schedule  yesterday to speak about how inspired she is by Notre Dame’s very own superstar Depute Head Boy.

First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said:  “I have known Rhys for some time now and was pleased to join him on what was a very sobering visit to Auschwitz in November with pupils from across Scotland. The Holocaust must never be forgotten and visits like this one are vital in educating young people about what can happen if prejudice and racism become normalised in society.

“I was impressed by Rhys the very first time I met him and continue to be inspired by his example – he has overcome so many hurdles and his achievements, including becoming a Scottish boxing champion and campaigning for equality in sport, are testament to his determination and character.”

Rhys McCole, S6, was being filmed for BBC Breakfast about his success overcoming disability, his boxing accolades and his current drive to bring equality to sports. The footage filmed in school on Monday attracted much attention and many laughs. It was due aired on TV this Wednesday morning during BBC Breakfast.

Rhys applied to take part in the BBC’s Young Reporter competition and was selected from thousands of applicants as one of just 12 pupils across the UK to be filmed.

The crew captured footage of the local boxer in school and, on Monday evening, at Rhys’s boxing club in Greenock. On Wednesday, Rhys and his grandfather are being flown to BBC headquarters in Manchester to film additional footage.

Notre Dame’s news team, Notre Dame Now, will be reporting, as part of the BBC’s Young Reporter project all day Wednesday. Watch out on BBC News24 for our work!

During Monday’s filming in school, one of our cleaners was stunned to find herself doing an interview to camera for the BBC – on her first day back to work after a knee operation. Stunned Marion Thomson just happened to be passing the filming in the social area on Monday when she became part of the story herself.

Marion Thomson, from Greenock, explained: “I was looking forward to coming back to work as I was fed up and I missed all the students and staff. I was just passing by Rhys and the boys, and I said to Rhys ‘I knew you were going be famous!’ Like everybody in the school, I know Rhys. He’s a lovely, smiley boy and he’s credit to the school.”

Notre Dame’s very own superstar Depute Head Boy took to the social area yesterday afternoon and strutted his stuff in front of a BBC film crew.

Rhys McCole, S6, was being filmed for BBC Breakfast about his success overcoming disability, his boxing accolades and his current drive to bring equality to sports. The footage filmed in school on Monday attracted much attention and many laughs - it’s due to be aired on TV this Wednesday morning during BBC Breakfast.

Rhys applied to take part in the BBC’s Young Reporter competition and was selected from thousands of applicants as one of just 10 pupils across the UK to be filmed.

The crew captured footage of the local boxer in school and, on Monday evening, at Rhys’s boxing club in Greenock. On Wednesday, Rhys and his grandfather are being flown to BBC headquarters in Manchester to film additional footage.

Notre Dame’s news team, Notre Dame Now, will be reporting, as part of the BBC’s Young Reporter project all day Wednesday. Watch out on BBC News24 for our work!

During Monday’s filming in school, one of our cleaners was stunned to find herself doing an interview to camera for the BBC – on her first day back to work after a knee operation. Stunned Marion Thomson just happened to be passing the filming in the social area on Monday when she became part of the story herself.

Marion Thomson, from Greenock, explained: “I was looking forward to coming back to work as I was fed up and I missed all the students and staff. I was just passing by Rhys and the boys, and I said to Rhys ‘I knew you were going be famous!’ Like everybody in the school, I know Rhys. He’s a lovely, smiley boy and he’s credit to the school.”