Holocaust Memorial To Be Unveiled In Dundee
Two Grove Academy pupils started to raise money for it after visiting Auschwitz.
A permanent memorial to the Holocaust victims will be unveiled in Dundee this afternoon. Grove Academy pupils, Rachel Lonie and Natalia Wojda visited Auschwitz last September and started to raise the money for the tribute, which'll be located in Windmill Gardens. Natalia says being at the camp had a massive effect on them...
Rachel said: “In September we travelled as part of the Lessons from Auschwitz programme to the death camp in Poland.
“We could not fathom the horrific acts that had taken place there. From then we wanted to do our part in conveying the contemporary relevance of the Holocaust within our school and community.
“The service at the end of the day on our visit to the camp is perhaps what has affected us the most.
“The Rabbi Barry Marcus said that when people ask him, ‘Where was God during the Holocaust?’ he answers with a question of his own: ‘Where was man?’
“Recent events taking place in the world has shown the vast distance within mankind and that little progress has been made in 70 years.”
Rachel and Natalia took the idea of creating a memorial to victims of the Holocaust and genocide to Dundee City Council.
Council leader Ken Guild immediately got behind the campaign and it was decided that Windmill Gardens in Broughty Ferry would be the ideal location.
Once permission was granted the pupils organised multiple bake sales and a raffle at the school which raised the three-figure sum required.
Tuesday’s event will also be one of 70 places in the UK where a special candle will be lit to mark 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz.
For Holocaust Memorial Day 2015, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust commissioned Sir Anish Kapoor to design and create 70 special candles to be distributed to 70 events across the UK - including Broughty Ferry.
Natalia said: “We are currently planning assemblies and activities within our school focussing on the contemporary relevance of the Holocaust.
“We want people to understand that each and every one of us is able to break the barrier of fear towards the unknown and act upon all odds.
“We are the voice of humanity and it is particularly important that young people take interest to continue to keep the memory alive for another 70 years.”
The memorial reads: “To the six million Jews and the other victims murdered in the Nazi death camps and to all who have experienced the horrors of genocide and the destruction caused by prejudice and discrimination. We Will Remember.”
The plaque also features a quote from Anne Frank which reads: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
Dundee City Council leader Ken Guild said: “We were more than happy to help when Rachel and Natalia approached us with their idea.
“The Holocaust must always be remembered to ensure that those atrocities are never repeated.
“It is truly honourable that these students have taken it upon themselves to create this lasting memorial.”
Grove Academy rector Graham Hutton said: “The memorial demonstrates that both Grove Academy pupils and our local community are willing to make a stand against prejudice and discrimination.”