A MAN who was just five-years-old when he was taken away to a Nazi concentration camp in the Netherlands says that young people have the opportunity to “change the world”.
Dr Martin Stern MBE was speaking ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day and following a whistle-stop tour of local schools that included Repton School, Derby Grammar School, Royal School for the Deaf and The Bemrose School.
He told Year 10 pupils at The Bemrose School that “lessons haven’t been learned” and that “ethnic hatred” still exists, but that they can help to make a difference.
“Sadly, my story isn’t unique,” said Dr Stern, who is now 85-years-old and is a volunteer with the charity, Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.
“My story is about the entire human race throughout history, and we still have lessons to learn. My generation has failed but the younger generation has the opportunity to make a difference.”
Dr Stern survived camps at both Westerbork and Theresienstadt and recalled memories of restrictions that were put in place during the Second World War and the 2,000-plus discrimination laws put in place by the Nazis.
He said: “These laws included restrictions on visiting the local park, sitting on a bench and being able to go to the swimming baths.
“It is hard for young people today to imagine having their freedom taken away like that.”
He also spoke about life in the concentration camp where “the food was so disgusting…we were fed vegetables that your mother would have binned” and how he vividly remembers trains passing by jam-packed with prisoners who “looked like ordinary men, only much thinner” and who were “packed tightly together, like sardines”.
Executive headteacher Neil Wilkinson said: “It was an absolute honour to have Dr Stern with us at The Bemrose School.
“He is such a powerful and balanced man, and the pupils showed a genuine interest in him. I was so impressed with the approach of the pupils and felt emotion that they are able to embrace the value of humans and life, rather than side by the anger that genocide can bring.”
Dr Stern arrived in the UK as a young refugee in 1950 and went to Manchester Grammar School and then on to University of Oxford to read medicine. He went on to become an immunologist and an authority on asthma, and is actively involved in activism to commemorate the Holocaust.
He said: “It is important that young people hear this story. Education needs to occur in schools and I was impressed with how intently the pupils at The Bemrose School listened.”
After the event, Dr Stern enjoyed lunch with members of the school parliament and Claire Amos, who is careers lead at Bemrose and who organised the visit.
She said: “As a school we have previously visited the National Holocaust Memorial Centre and when we were offered the chance of a visit from Dr Stern, we knew it was a great opportunity to teach our pupils about the horrors of genocide, which, unfortunately, still occurs today.
“The Holocaust is linked to the curriculum and so Dr Stern’s talk fits in well.
“He has taught us all of the importance of kindness and it was an honour to welcome him to our school.”
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