This week, Freemen’s School welcomed Holocaust survivor Marcel Ladenheim to the school, as part of a visit organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust.
Marcel shared his experiences to Upper 4 students and served as a powerful reminder of the horrors that so many families faced during that time.
Born in 1939 to Austrian Jewish parents, his family was not to escape deportation. With co-operation from the French government, the German’s started to round up the foreign Jews in Paris, including Marcel’s father.
The students heard how Marcel was one of the lucky few that escaped persecution from the Nazis, and become one of the war’s “hidden children”. Thanks to his mother’s quick thinking and her instinct of the dangers that lay ahead, she put Marcel and his younger brother into hiding.
Marcel and his brother eventually lived with two sisters, Olga and Esther Masoli, until the end of the war and he remembers them with great fondness. Sadly, his mother never truly recovered from the ordeal of his father being taken away, and was hospitalised after suffering a mental breakdown.
“There were 11,400 French Jewish children who were taken away and murdered. Over a million children under 16 were murdered in Europe during that time. I feel like it is really important for young people to know what happened, because that was an extreme case of racism,” said Marcel.
“It is particularly important today to share this story because terrible things are still happening in the world, like Ukraine. The point is, that one has to learn from history,” he added.
The testimony was followed by a question-and-answer session which gave students a chance to better understand the nature of the Holocaust and to explore its lessons in more depth.
Students Tess D and Orlan W presented Marcel with flowers to thank him for sharing such a moving story and inspiring them to keep the story alive for future generations.
The History Department said: ““It was a privilege for us to welcome Marcel to our school and his testimony will remain a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced. We are grateful to the Holocaust Educational Trust for co-ordinating the visit and we hope that by hearing Marcel’s testimony, it will encourage our students to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust and make a positive difference in their own lives.”
Karen Pollock MBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust added: “The Holocaust Educational Trust educates and engages students from across the UK, from all communities about the Holocaust and there can be no better way than through the first-hand testimony of a survivor. Marcel’s story is one of tremendous courage during horrific circumstances and by hearing his testimony, students will have the opportunity to learn where prejudice and racism can ultimately lead.
“At the Trust, we impart the history of the Holocaust to young people, to ensure that we honour the memory of those whose lives were lost and take forward the lessons taught by those who survived.”
The visit is part of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s extensive year-round Outreach Programme, which is available to schools across the UK.
