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A sombre visit to Auschwitz
Recently, students in Year 12 at Westminster City School's Sixth Form had the opportunity to take a visit to Auschwitz.
Jenin and Joel's Trip to Auschwitz
Recently, students in Year 12 at Westminster City School's Sixth Form had the opportunity to take a visit to Auschwitz.
Jenin, who visited the camp said:
"It's very difficult to put our experience into words. To be able to go and visit and create a platform of awareness is of crucial importance to us to commemorate the individuals whose lives were lost. What many fail to realise is that embarking on a journey to Auschwitz is not just a physical exploration but also a profound and emotional one. Before we arrived at the camps and we walked around the town of Oświęcim to look at Pre-war Jewish life, we had preconceived notions of what Auschwitz-Birkenau would be like.
"It is difficult to articulate the initial shock of standing at the threshold of the camps synonymous with immense amounts of suffering under the gate adorned with the phrase "Arbeit macht frei" (Work sets you free). But as soon as we entered it was haunting to witness remnants of the inhumanely cruel experience of people interned at both Auschwitz and Birkenau."
Joel, who was a part of the visit added:
"Learning about all the individuals and their unique experiences of what they endured is essential to adding a human face to the statistics. All the remains and artefacts such as shoes, glasses and suitcases meticulously preserved were not just seen but deeply felt. Each step of our journey that day served as powerful emblems of remembrance from which we aim to educate future generations the ill repercussions of prejudice and hatred. As we left Birkenau to head back to Krakow airport, the mood was more sombre than anything else."
