International Holocaust Memorial Day

Today, we at Latymer Upper School and Latymer Prep School are commemorating International Holocaust Memorial Day. This day marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and we take a moment to reflect on the horrors of the Holocaust and honor the memory of its victims, as well as those of subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.

There will be assemblies this week for each year group to reflect on the message of Holocaust Memorial Day and learn about this year’s theme, ‘For a Better Future’. In addition to this, last week we had the privilege of hosting holocaust survivor Steve Frank who shared his deeply moving and insightful story with our Year 11 and Lower Sixth students, recounting the harrowing experiences of his family. We are also hosting Hephzibah Rudofsky, daughter of  Holocaust survivor Lady Zahava Kohn, who will be speaking to our Year 9 students this Wednesday. We are very grateful to both of them for coming in to share their incredible stories.

Over the weekend Upper and Lower Sixth form students visited the Reichstag in Berlin as part of their Art and Art History trip, where they encountered a powerful reminder of the significance of this day on the steps of Germany’s parliament.

Today we join with other institutions around the country and light up the front of the school building in purple light as an act of solidarity with those who have perished in the Holocaust and other genocides, and as a symbol of standing against prejudice in our society today.

Author: Sohni Malde