Holocaust survivor visits Hermitage Academy

Jan 22 2010 by Lorraine Waddell, Lennox Herald (main ed)

HERMITAGE Academy students will be visited by a Holocaust survivor.

The event, on Friday, January 22, will mark Holocaust Memorial Day and has been organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust.

The theme of this year’s event is Legacy of Hope and aims to encourage youngsters to learn from the experience of survivors.

Rudi Oppenheimer will speak at the Helensburgh school and, afterwards, students will be given the chance to ask him questions.

This year, Holocaust Memorial Day, on January 27, will commemorate the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentration and extermination camp.

Jim McGonigle, principal of history at Hermitage Academy said: “It is a privilege for us to welcome Rudi 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 Rudi’s testimony, it will encourage our students to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust and make a positive difference in their own lives.”