Hearts and minds
As Jewish students continue to face bigotry on campuses across the UK, student leaders and academics were brought face to face with its darkest consequences on a trip to Auschwitz this week — and were left in no doubt about what must change
WE ARE standing inside Block 27 of the Auschwitz death camp on a bitterly cold November afternoon.
Liron Velleman, here in Poland as a former Union of Jewish Students campaigns president, has just discovered the page detailing members of his own family murdered in the Shoah among the 4.2 million others identified in the Book of Names.
Tears stream down Mr Velleman’s face as the devastating reality of Nazi persecution of his own family is spelt out in black ink. But in a moment of extreme anguish, comfort is on hand.
Mr Vellemen, a youth and students officer with the Jewish Labour Move- ment, receives a speedy and reassuring cuddle from the president of the National Union of Students, Shakira Martin. I overhear the words uttered by Ms Martin, the south London-born student leader. “This is your family, Liron,” she says.
“But it feels, at this moment, as though they are also mine.”
This entirely spontaneous moment was perhaps the most poignant but not the only significant development as 93 student leaders and sabbatical staff, and 29 university chancellors, vice-chancellors and chiefs of staff visited the notorious death camps on Monday as part of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz universities project.
“Walking through the Book of Names of victims and seeing pages of my own family history reminded me, and those around me, that this is a deeply personal tragedy as well as one that is felt universally,” Mr Velleman later told the JC.
The NUS president, who was visiting Auschwitz for a second time, also confessed: “The first time I came here, it was eye-opening to learn so much about the Holocaust and being able to match the stories I’d heard about in school with the reality of the situation.
“But, coming here today, what really touched me, and what I am going to be taking away from this trip, is the sight of my friend seeing the names of his family in the book of 1,600 pages naming all those murdered. “It showed to me that not only was this something that happened in history and you have a duty to never forget, but how it is also something that is still very much a reality to people who are close to me and that I care about.” More than 37,000 A-Level students and teachers from across the UK have already visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, but
concern about the increase in antisemitic incidents on campuses across the UK led HET into a partnership with the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) to organise the first visit to a death camp for representatives of the university sector.
The impressive numbers accepting invitations to take part in the unique event — including delegates from most of the major universities — showed there was clearly an acceptance, within the sector, of concerns that needed to be addressed.
Karen Pollock, chief executive of HET, said the initiative was intended to “shift thinking and relate to issues of the past and of today”.
She added: “We need to see more engagement between faith and community groups on campuses. We also hope we can offer guidance on where and when there is a need to intervene.”
The Lessons from Auschwitz itinerary was intense and packed. The day before departure from Stansted to Krakow, the group met for a pre-visit seminar.
During the meeting, at least one student representative mentioned concerns they had relating to Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza.
There will be a follow-up seminar to discuss attitudes and opinions of the visit next week.
The party travelling on the packed Titan Airways plane had been divided into 10 groups, each of which were allocated individual HET “educators” to act as official guides during the visit to the Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration camps.
Having educators team up with experienced local guides embodied the real strength of the project.
Walking among some of the most gut-wrenching relics of history, Tom Jackson, one of HET’s most experienced educators, sparked discussion and debate within our group.
Before even entering the camps, we stood on what initially seemed to be a small hilltop in the town of Oswiecim (Polish for Auschwitz). Surrounded by two churches, whose bells tolled loudly as Mr Jackson spoke, we learnt that the hill we were standing on once housed the main synagogue — before it was destroyed by the Nazis.
We were also joined throughout the day by Rabbi Andrew Shaw, who provided a traditional religious perspective — one which did not always chime with that of Tom Jackson.
In a moment that provoked real thought, again in Auschwitz Block 27, Rabbi Shaw described the Book of Names of Jewish Holocaust victims as being the “most depressing” list in history. But Mr Jackson interrupted. He argued that if the Nazis had had their way, the list of 4.2 million names in the book would not have been possible as their victims would have slaughtered without all trace.
Later, we were taken to a perimeter fence in the camp, to be told Nazi death camp commander Rudolf Hoess had lived in the house metres outside the concentration camp site with his wife and children.
We were asked to describe what sort of man could live with his family next to a camp that processed the murder of 12,000 Jews every day.
The initial answers were those that would be expected to describe a butcher such as Hoess, who was eventually hanged on gallows built in the grounds of Auschwitz after confessing to his crimes at Nuremberg.
But it was then also suggested that, while alive, the Nazi commander could also be considered to have been the perfect family man in terms of his living arrangements — albeit one ultimately consumed by the murderous ideology of Adolf Hitler’s National Socialism.
The lesson embedded in the story of Hoess — that poisonous ideologies can take hold in otherwise “normal” societies if they are not effectively challenged — was one of several we were asked to take on board.
During a closing ceremony in Birkenau, we heard carefully selected poetry readings from group members, and uplifting speeches from HET’s Karen Pollock.
Rabbi Shaw issued a stern warning about failing to stand up to rising hatred and intolerance, while defending Israel against ever-increasing criticism.
David Davidi-Brown from the UJS delivered another powerful message that addressed his identity as a gay Jewish man.
In the rush to leave Birkenau in time to catch our return flight, the mood in the group was a clear indication that this visit had proven to be overwhelmingly successful.
Giles Carden, chief of staff at Lancaster University, told the JC: “I think it’s been extremely moving and is something I always wanted to do. It’s more relevant than ever today with the rise of extremism you are seeing in the world.
“The project has clearly been a success and I think they should look to expand it.
“You are hearing reports of rising antisemitism, and the university sector is under more scrutiny than ever because of higher fees. Why shouldn’t we be under scrutiny like other sectors?
“It’s really important to educate the younger generation against extremism.”
Salome Dore, Loughborough Students’ Union representative, added: “I think it was a really good experience, especially at the end during the ceremony when they talked about everything around issues like racism.
“In my role as Welfare and Diversity Officer, these are the things I’m having to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
“It was interesting to hear the bigger perspective, which makes you realise that, when you first hear this stuff, that’s what could be the end-point of it.”
Mr Velleman added: “The UJS/HET Lessons from Auschwitz Trip for student and university leaders was an inspirational day that will have widereaching impacts on campuses in the UK for years to come.
“From NUS representatives to students’ unions and universities, it is now incumbent upon those who bore witness to the horrors that we walked through and learnt about at Auschwitz to make an impact in their own spaces to fight the tide of intolerance and hate.”