SCHOOLCHILDREN IN SUNDERLAND have created a commemorative artwork to help raise awareness of Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January).
Pupils from Grangetown Primary have created a patchwork quilt, designing individual squares based on the memories and experiences of Jewish children who fled to Britain to escape Nazi persecution before the Second World War.
As part of a Sunderland City Council Library Services funded project, they were asked to think how it must have felt to have been one of the 10,000 mainly Jewish children evacuated from Germany and Austria through the ‘Kindertransport’ programme.
The evacuation programme, an organised arrangement with the help of the British Government, transported the children to safety in Britain between 2 December 1938 and 1 September 1939.
Assistant Head of Library Services, Marie Brett, joined pupils from Grangetown Primary and textile artist Louise Underwood at the City Library and Arts Centre in Fawcett Street, to help unveil the commemorative quilt which will be on display until Friday 12 February.
The quilt is based on an original project in America during the 1980s by Anita Grosz whose father was a Kindertransport refugee, and like many from this period in history found it traumatic to talk about these experiences.
Instead, Anita asked evacuees and members of their family to design a square representing their memories and thoughts from the time, resulting in four quilts now on display in the Holocaust Memorial Centre in North America.
Sunderland Library Service and textile artist Louise Underwood began the city based project with Year Six children from Grangetown Primary School last year.
Each pupil was asked to consider the experiences and feelings of the Kindertransport children, and design their own square to be sewn together to create the new quilt.
After being on display at City Library and Arts Centre for Holocaust Memorial Day, the quilt will be on view at community venues across the city before being loaned to the school as a legacy of the project.
Sunderland City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Public Health Wellness and Culture, Councillor John Kelly said: “The Library Service has organised this joint venture as part of its Holocaust Memorial commemorations for 2016.
“It is vital that we never forget such chapters in our history, and getting young people involved in arts projects such as this is an invaluable method of teaching.
“The Quilt created by the pupils at Grangetown Primary provides a poignant and permanent reminder how previous generations of children have suffered through persecution and war.”
Headteacher of Grangetown Primary School, Les McAnaney added: “Our year six children enjoyed the workshops, and gained important insights into a traumatic episode in history – one which must never be forgotten.
“Teaching children about the Holocaust is important, but is undoubtedly a challenge. However, it’s also true that art provides one means by which children can begin to access the realities of life for those who were fleeing persecution.
“We’d like to thank Sunderland Library Services for giving us the opportunity to be part of the Kindertransport Project – it was an ideal way for the children to follow-up the work they had done earlier in the term on the life of Anne Frank.”
The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2016 is ‘ Don’t Stand by ’ (http://hmd.org.uk/) which based on the idea that while some actively supported state policies of persecution, the vast majority stood by silently afraid to speak out or at worst, indifferent.
‘Don’t Stand By’ focuses on those who decided not to be by-standers to hate crime and prejudice, and to take action such as Kindertransport against it.