Auschwitz visit has real impact
TWENTY six learners and three staff from Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Engineering College in Skelmersdale have recently returned from a four day Religious Education visit to the Polish city of Krakow.
Although the trip included a full day guided tour of this beautiful city and a chance to experience true Polish culture and cuisine, the main focus was always the history of the Holocaust, a subject which is usually classroom taught.
Trip leader and RE teacher Heather Roby explained that the emotional impact for the 26 learners and their subsequent reflection, far exceeded any expectations; they were ‘really moved’ by the whole experience.
The variety of excursions centred round the topic really brought it to life and had far more impact on the learners than any ‘in school’ reading or teaching could ever do.
Learners visited the Galacia museum where they listened to the testimony of a Holocaust survivor and learnt about pre-war Jewish life.
The following day they visited the extermination camp of AuschwitzBirkenau.
The horror of Auschwitz brought most of the learners to tears; the spiritual reflection and prayers following this visit were powerful and profound.
The learners that travelled to Auschwitz are now expected to act as ambassadors for an ‘in-school’ project.
Their aim is to design and implement ways in which, through assemblies and ‘guest talks’ to other classes, they can spread the message of the importance of tolerance and the dangers of discrimination. Prior to the visit learners committed themselves to an enrichment project aptly named ‘The Auschwitz Project’.
This helped them to be prepared emotionally for the trip and gain knowledge of the atrocity that will almost certainly feature in the GCSE paper.