IT’S not only the -12 temperature that chills you to the bone at Auschwitz.
It’s also the heartwrenching evidence of man’s inhumanity to man.
Cardinal Newman pupil Helen Parkins, 16, was one of a group of 200 schoolchildren who visited the notorious World War II death camp on Thursday as part of the Lessons from Auschwitz (LFA) project, organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust.
She said: “Seeing all the suitcases of the people who died really impacted me.
“It was like the gravestones they never had, just their names and addresses.
“I couldn’t really process it. It was really sad.”
Helen, who’s studying history, maths and biology in Year 12, added: “The whole experience was surreal.
“It was quite different to what I imagined. I thought it was going to be gloomy, but it was so intimidating.
“I knew people were killed but I didn’t realise the magnitude of it. I didn’t think of all the other people involved, the bystanders and collaborators.
“You can watch the films and read the books but you don’t get it until you see it for yourself.”
She confessed: “ It was overwhelming.
“It’s important that everyone remembers because history can repeat itself if you don’t learn from it.
“I’m Catholic and I wouldn’t want to be persecuted for my faith.”
Her feelings were echoed by fellow Cardinal Newman pupil David Schoon, 17, whose subjects include economics, history, law and accounting.
He admitted nothing prepared him for the reality of Auschwitz and its sister camp Birkenau.
“The scale of it is just so much bigger than you see in pictures. I was quite shocked,” he said.
“It’s very scary to think that less than 70 years ago this killing and murdering of people was going on so close to home.
“When you see the display cabinets with little shoes and people’s hair, it’s hard to explain how it makes you feel. You think about how many people must have died to get that amount of stuff, about all the lives that were lost.
“We must never forget so that we don’t get sucked up into hating people.”
He and Helen will bring the Holocaust home to a new generation at a series of school assemblies.
The Trust’s one day visit to Poland included a visit to a Jewish cemetery in Osweicim, a tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum, memorial, barracks and crematoria, as well as a moving memorial service.
The four-part programme is based on the premise ‘Hearing is not like seeing’ and focuses on the contemporary lessons of the Holocaust for schools and communities.
More than 14,000 pupils have taken part since it began 13 years ago.
HET chief executive Karen Pollock said: “LFA gives students the chance to understand the dangers of prejudice and racism today.”
> Visit the {http://www.het.org.uk} website for more information