Holocaust experiences shared by a survivor
A MAN who survived being sent to a concentration camp as a child in World War Two has visited Loughborough College to share his experiences of the Holocaust.
Dr Martin Stern was arrested by the Gestapo at the age of five and sent to Theresienstadt, in what is now the Czech republic. Fifteen thousand children entered the camp but fewer than one per cent survived.
Martin’s parents had gone into hiding in 1938, the year he was born, after fleeing to the Netherlands from Germany – where it was at that time illegal for a German woman to marry a Jewish man. But his father was caught by German soldiers and sent to Auschwitz and died in 1945.
Martin’s mother died giving
birth to his younger sister and Dutch police picked up the two children and took them to the camp. Martin and his sister survived because they were cared for by a Dutch woman – only allowed to do so because her father had killed two German soldiers.
After moving from two countries, living with five different families and going to five schools, Martin eventually qualified as a
doctor and settled in the UK, in Leicester.
The retired doctor has now been honoured with an MBE for services to Holocaust education. He said he was “moved and grateful” to receive the recognition and hopes it helps him as he continues to raise awareness of the causes and consequences of genocide.
He added: “Genocide is a major cause of death and destruction – people said never again after the Second World War but it keeps happening again and again. If you look at the news there are horrors going on around the world and it shows why this work is necessary.”
Loughborough College history tutor Robert Fieldsend said: “Martin Stern has worked tirelessly for more than 30 years to raise awareness of the Holocaust and the world’s atrocities and genocide since.
“His dignity and insight has had a huge impact on our students and the direct experiences he shared have taken their understanding to a new level.
“They are regularly seeing news reports on the impact of extremism and divisiveness and were captivated by Martin’s message and to discover what they can do themselves to help in raising awareness.”