Summer 2012 - Newbattle Community High School

Page 4
Newbattle News
Auschwitz Visit
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Junior Enterprise Project
Over the course of twelve weeks, a
group of S1 and S2 pupils enjoyed a
lunch time business enterprise club
where they were given the task of
creating their own business and designing
a product to sell throughout
the school. After a lot of hard thinking
and research, the group decided
that they would create a gardening
pack. During this time, they carried
out a number of tasks including market
research, creating names and logos,
and designing and selling the
product. The gardening packs sold
Last September we took part in the
Lessons From Auschwitz project.
This included meeting a survivor
from World War II, and a one day
trip to visit two camps and a cemetery
in Poland. Before visiting the camp,
we met Ziggy Shipper, a Polish survivor
who experienced the horrors of
World War II. He told us about his
struggles as he was shipped to many
different camps at a very young age,
living in unimaginable conditions.
After hearing about Ziggy’s suffering,
we felt incredibly guilty for taking so
much in our lives for granted.
After visiting the cemetery, we made
our way to one of the concentration
camps, Auschwitz I. On arrival, the
coach was silent as everyone took in
their surroundings. We met our guide,
Anna, who told us of the horrors that
happened here, while we walked
along-side the barracks where prisoners
were kept not so very many years
ago. We went inside several barracks
where we saw masses of hair, shoes,
suitcases and even children’s toys;
these personal items were removed
from prisoners on arrival at the
camps. Throughout this time nobody
spoke. We could only just
about take in the horrible statistics
that were thrown at us.
We were allowed to stand inside
one of the gas chambers
and this for us, personally, was
surreal. We could walk in, view
inside it, view the crematorium,
and then walk back out
but every prisoner that was
marched into the gas chamber
only made it to the crematorium,
they didn’t even get to
see the way out. Seeing the
cells within the basement of one of
the barracks was very eerie. The suffocation,
starvation and standing cells
were all designed to make people suffer
in the cruellest ways possible.
They were kept there for days on end
without the necessary things to sustain
life.
We also Visited Auschwitz II, where
we saw the terrible conditions even
young children had to put up with.
At the end of the day we all made our
way to a building within the camp
that had been kept to house photos
and a few personal items. In this
building we held a memorial service
to show our respect for those poor
innocent victims who died at the
hands of the most evil people on
Earth. Rabbi Marcus held the memorial
service and said a few prayers towards
the end. He reminded us to
reflect on the trip and change our way
of life; we shouldn’t take things for
granted and we should live each day
as it comes. All that we can say now is
‘seeing truly is believing.’
Zoe Forrester & Louise Collins 6M
very well and the pupils enjoyed the
experience so much that they would
all like to continue with another project
in the future.
By Ellie Hogarth 1AM
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