Assembly Round Two

On the 24th June, we organised another assembly to our year group, in which we informed them about the experience of the visit to Auschwitz. Although we were both nervous about speaking in front of so many people, we both found it valuable to be able to feedback on such a significant visit to Auschwitz. 

We began our assembly with the following statement :

"If we were to have a minutes silence for everyone who died at Auschwitz, we would remain silent for two years."

This statement was read by Rabbi Barry Marcus at the memorial service at the end of our visit to Auschwitz, and it was something that really stuck in our heads and still remains a thought today. I feel as though this is a quote that really makes people consider the sheer scale of the Holocaust, and perhaps makes them think about all those individual lives that collectively would account for two years of silence. 

We then discussed each stage of the visit to Auschwitz, from the visit to Osweicim, to Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkenau (blog posts on these coming soon!), and what we had learnt from this. Furthermore, we informed our year group about the various next steps projects we are completing throughout the year, 

To finish our assembly, we read a survivor testimony. The decision for which testimony to read was a difficult one, however, when reflecting on the day at Auschwitz, we both though it was suitable to read the testimony from Elie Wiesel. This testimony was read at the point of selection, and was certainly memorable and emotional to hear. When we heard this, it was very powerful, and upsetting. The thought of seeing your family for the last time, and not realising it was most profound. A blog post of his testimony will follow this post. 

At the end of the assembly, we also finished with a powerful quote from George Santayana, which we felt summarised the importance of the LFA project, but also made people think about the Holocaust. 

"The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again."

We received great feedback on this assembly, from students and staff, and we were pleased that as ambassadors, we have the opportunity to teach others about what we have learnt from this project. We are both looking forward to teaching the rest of the school about our experience later in the year.