Winchester pupils hear from Holocaust survivors

Scarlet Epstein, left, and Marcel Ladenheim, centre, with pupils from Kings' School Scarlet Epstein, left, and Marcel Ladenheim, centre, with pupils from Kings' School

WINCHESTER pupils were given a glimpse into the horrors of the Holocaust last month.

Special guests Marcel Ladenheim and Scarlet Epstein told Year 9 students at Kings’ School how they survived Nazi occupation and managed to escape the concentration camps.

Marcel was a child in Nazi-occupied Paris but survived by being hidden by his two sisters.

Scarlet grew up in Vienna during the Anschluss and spoke of the anti-Semitism she endured at school before she was banned from going altogether.

She also once risked attending a Nazi rally and saw one of Hitler’s “hypnotising speeches”. She escaped initially to Albania, then Germany and finally to England, where she became an anthropology professor.

Sean Browne, PGCE student at Kings’, said: “Our thanks go to Marcel and Scarlet who gave up their time to share and bring to life the true horrors and reality of being Jewish during the Holocaust and to the departments who offered relating themes to this thought provoking day. There is no doubt that the day was a true inspiration as well as a day of reflection.”

It was part of the school’s wider study of the Holocaust which includes a memorial created by art classes and the re-enactment of Anne Frank’s story in drama lessons.

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