Beth Shalom- Meeting Holocaust Survivor Eva Clarke

The second and final group of pupils- our 5th Year GCSE candidates, 3M and 3D- visited Beth Shalom, the National Holocaust Centre and after seeing the garden display and exhibition, listened to the moving story of Holocaust survivor, Eva Clarke.

In conversation afterwards with staff, we remarked that even on a repeat visit- and some staff have visited over 20 times- there is always something new in the stories of the survivors. This was once again true of Mrs Clarke's story.

She spoke mainly of her mother's courage defeating the horrors of first Theresienstadt (Terezin) and then Auschwitz Birkenau. It was revealed that Eva was born in the latter, a fact that made her mother's life even more remarkable since so few of the pregnant or newly born left the camps alive.

Mrs Clarke spoke with the dignity, wry humour and confidence that distinguish so many of the survivors, describing her family's life in Prague, the concentration camps and after liberation. She also recommended 'Schindler's List' and 'The Pianist' as the most realistic film portrayals of the period.

The sadness of how her mother's husband was shot only a few days before liberation was just one of many horrors that the pupils heard about. Descriptions of being sent a card calling her parents to the camps and the packing of their belongings, a soldier's reaction to her mother, the processes of 'selection' and 'registration', her mother's friends propping her up when feinting, a coded postcard sent from the camp... all struck the audience. 

Questions from those present probed her belief in a god, her Jewish heritage, whether her survival was luck or faith, her treatment in England, her forgiveness for the Nazis and so much more.

In her final statements, Mrs Clarke encouraged everyone to use their democratic vote, stand up for the rights of individuals, not condemn Germans born since for the crimes of their ancestors and condemn racism. She also urged us all to find out as much as possible about our own family heritage from parents and grandparents.