Academy pupils hear from Holocaust survivor

Second year pupils at Stromness Academy heard, today, the first-hand account of a Holocaust survivor.

Joanna Millan visited the school to deliver a talk through the Holocaust Educational Trust.

Her talk was followed by a question-and-answer session to enable the pupils to better understand the nature of the Holocaust and explore its lessons in more depth.

Joanna, who is now a magistrate, was born Bela Rosenthal in August 1942, in Berlin, Germany.  In July 1943, Bela and her mother were taken from their home and sent to the Theresienstadt ghetto. In May 1945, the Red Cross took control of the camp and Bela was liberated by the Russians, after which she was flown to England and adopted.

Babette Hegarty, acting headteacher at Stromness Academy, said: “It is a privilege for us to welcome Joanna Millan to our school and her testimony will remain a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced.

“We are grateful to the Holocaust Educational Trust for co-ordinating the visit and we hope that by hearing Joanna’s testimony, it will encourage our students to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust and make a positive difference in their own lives.”