Cathedral hosts Holocaust Event 2025

To commemorate the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a pivotal moment in world history, St Albans Cathedral ran two days of Holocaust memorial events where students learnt about the Holocaust and more recent genocides.

These sessions were held in association with the Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Robert Voss, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Wiener Library—three of Britain’s leading organisations working on Holocaust and genocide remembrance and commemoration.

Students participated in a carousal of workshops exploring the questions, including what is Holocaust Memorial Day, the pre-Nazi era, Jewish life in Europe, spiritual and cultural resistance to the Holocaust; and the five steps to tyranny. The session provided an important space for students to reflect on the past, understand the significance of Holocaust Memorial Day, and explore contemporary lessons from history.

The event was attended by 379 students from seven schools, ranging from year 6 to year 11, and speakers included Holocaust survivor Susie Barnett BEM and Steven Frank BEM, and Rwandan genocide survivor Sophie Musabe. Cathedral education officer Steve Clarke said, “The students were respectfully engaged throughout in what is a very challenging subject. Each workshop was delivered appropriately, whilst the opportunity to hear eyewitness accounts from Holocaust and genocide survivors really brought home to all the reality of the subject.”

A year 6 teacher added: “It was such an honour to meet the speakers and the children really felt like they had learnt a lot. It’s not an easy subject by any means; however, I felt that the balance of content was just right. I’d like to extend my thanks to all who were involved and gave up their time for such an important event, and in particular to Susie, who really made the event. The children were fascinated to hear her first-hand account.”