Originally posted by Cow Poke
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The guest speakers are either survivors of the holocaust, or those who were evacuated in the kindertransport. As you'd imagine, it is becoming harder each year to find a guest speaker who had lived through these times personally. Also as you'd imagine, their stories are more personal and therefore more horrific to hear than what you'd find in your average history text book.
The problem here isn't so much that they aren't taught it, but that it tends to be taught in an almost sterile manner. The numbers of people murdered by the nazis defies belief, and though concentration camps weren't new ideas historically, it was the first time they were used for industrial scale murder, towards the end even negatively effecting the German war effort.
The sheer numbers, and how it escalated from when they fist came to power until the final solution is a huge piece in itself.
I wonder if it just gets lost in the story of the second world war. Its covered, usually alongside Ann Frank's diary, but tbh it's a whole subject in itself- particularly because we've had several other genocides since.
I'm aware that having spent years now listening first hand to the stories of people who have lived through it I'm more aware of what happened than most, I am touched by the reaction of your granddaughter. Thank you for sharing.
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