On Sunday, 27 January, thirty students from Our Lady’s Bower attended the Holocaust Memorial Day at the Mansion House in Dublin. This was a great privilege as only four schools were invited to the poignant event, and very fitting as the students study the Holocaust as part of the transition year history programme.
The memorial day marks the liberation of the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birchenau in the final days of the Second World War, and serves as a constant reminder of the dangers of racism and intolerance. The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Justice Susan Denham and Minister Alan Shatter were among the speakers, as were three Jewish survivors of the Holocaust whose stories moved their audience to tears. Lynda Lee, soprano sang pieces by Jewish composers who were gassed in the chambers.
Finally twelve students, including Bower sixth years Florence Fanning, Kayle Crosson and Katie Rock read from the scroll of names of those who had perished that have family ties in Ireland. The ceremony concluded with a minute’s silence and the lighting of six candles to represent the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.
