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THE ALLEYNIAN 709
OPINION, INTERVIEWS & FEATURES
Jamie Chong (Year 12) reflects on past genocides, and on the importance of speaking out to prevent future atrocities
If humans were capable of this before, wemust acknowledge that it could happen again “
Remembering the Holocaust
ARTWORK — TOM COOPER (YEAR 10)
S ix million and more .
similar to those found in the work of Daniel Libeskind at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. The works produced by these students also formed the Lent 2021 gallery around the theme of ‘Light in the Dark’, along with creative writing, photography and art by members of the Dulwich community of all ages. On 26 January, students had the opportunity to listen to Dr James Smith, the CEO of Aegis Trust, as part of the SSLP Thinking About series. Aegis Trust is a charity dedicated to conflict resolution, peace education and genocide prevention. Dr Smith spoke about the importance of taking a stand and speaking out as individuals in order to highlight to governments that we care about what is happening on a global level. Dr Smith talked about how the Holocaust did not happen under a guise, and that the perpetrators were human beings: if humans were capable of this before, we must acknowledge that it could happen again. In order to prevent more genocides, education and information are needed to tackle hatred. It was fascinating to hear about Dr Smith’s work in countries experiencing division and conflict, and heart-wrenching to hear about the sacrifices and losses that have happened in those places, which act as stark reminders that, even in 2021, the fight to eradicate prejudice is far from over. Dulwich College has agreed that its support of Echo Eternal and Aegis Trust will not end this year. Dr Spence believes that ‘this engagement plays to the outward-looking focus of all our partnership work at Dulwich’. Today, and into the future, we pledge to be a ‘light in the darkness’, raising our voices for the ones who cannot speak out for themselves. In the words of Judith Kerr: ‘What would they not have given to have had even a month of the life I’ve had. You can’t waste it, can you?’
The number of Jewish people, disabled people, and members of other vulnerable minorities who were killed during the Nazi-led genocide of 1939–45 remains a dark shadow on the 20th century. On Holocaust Memorial Day 2021 students were encouraged to ask questions about the Holocaust and other genocides, as well as reflecting on our roles as individuals and within
institutions, and thinking about the responsibility we have to speak out against persecution and injustice.
In 2021 we have begun working with Echo Eternal, a charity that uses the testimony of Holocaust survivors to educate young people about historic and contemporary genocides. Echo Eternal has secured testimony from over 100 Holocaust survivors, and the schools with which they work on their Horizons project are invited to respond creatively to the reminiscences of 19 of these survivors. Echo Eternal has gifted Dulwich College the testimony of writer Judith Kerr, and the College has pledged to shine a light on ‘the lessons we can take from the difficult journey of Judith Kerr and her family, and of all refugees fleeing from tyranny and conflict’. The Master says that he was ‘very taken with the idea that young people should echo the testimony of those survivors through drama, music, dance, and art’, and this engagement has been seen in the range of activities organised throughout the half term. As a reflection on Judith Kerr’s hopefulness in times of distress, Year 12 art students worked on a project around the stimulus of light in the darkness. Their responses ranged from Caravaggio- inspired chiaroscuro to explorations of space, voids, and memory
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