STUDENTS have been recording moving messages to ensure the next generation remembers one of the worst war crimes in history.
Students from St Aidan’s Academy, Darlington, have been making the recordings as part of a borough-wide memorial marking the Holocaust, the systematic slaughter of millions of Jewish people during World War II.
Their words will be played along with those of students from other schools at a special ceremony being held on January 27 at the Dolphin Centre.
St Aidan’s Academy will also provide two students to read at the memorial on the theme of ‘not walking on by’.
Rebecca Fellows, 12, said: “It is hard for us to believe that something like the Holocaust could happen as it was so awful. It is so important to remember so we don’t allow it to happen again.”
School chaplain Martin Stand said students would be studying the Holocaust in tutor time and during act of worship.
He said: “Some of the readings are quotations others are work prepared by the students themselves. It is important that the students become involved as it gives them the opportunity to learn about a period of history that was appalling and helps them reflect on the state of humanity and what we can do to make the world a better place.”
Principal Nicole Gibbon added: “Not walking on by is particularly relevant in today’s society where so many people ignore what is going on in the world around them. Being involved in something like this helps us all focus on what is really important in life.”