TWO sixth-formers from a Derbyshire school have described their "numbness" and "horror" during an emotional trip to the former Nazi extermination camps in Poland.
Bridie Jogela and Joe Robson, both 17, of Mill Hill School, Ripley, spent a day at Auschwitz, as well as taking part in seminars organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust.
The trust's Lessons From Auschwitz project is based on the premise that hearing is not like seeing and is a four-part course which explores the universal lessons of the Holocaust and its relevance to today.
Joe and Bridie are now preparing assemblies which they are hoping to give to each year group at their school, during which they will talk about their own experiences of Auschwitz.
The visit to Poland began with students seeing a pre-war Jewish site in the Polish town of Oswiecim, where they learned more about the victims' lives and visited a local synagogue.
Other sites that were visited included several barracks at Auschwitz One before going to Birkenau, where the vast majority of victims were murdered.
Bridie, of Ripley, said the project had helped her to have a better understanding of what happened during the Holocaust.
She said: "I think the project's aim is to rehumanise the Holocaust and focus on individuals. When you are sitting in a classroom it's more about facts and figures and actually going to Poland helps you to have a better understanding of what happened.
"We went to Auschwitz One, which was an Army barracks that the Nazis had taken over as a prison camp. We saw the gas chamber and crematorium. Then we went to Auschwitz Two which was built so that they could take even more prisoners.
"We saw some of the starvation cells and the standing cell with a wall at the back where people were shot. I wasn't sure what to expect before I got there, I thought I would cry and be really upset but I felt more numb and couldn't believe that this had happened. It was a lot worse than I expected."
Joe, also of Ripley, said the visit brought home the scale of the Holocaust to him.
He said: "I think it was very different to how I expected it to be. The camps were massive and it is difficult to imagine the scale of the killing that went on. I think it took a while to sink in, it probably wasn't until a couple of days after the trip you realise where you have been and what you have seen."
Steve Richardson, director of learning for years 12 and 13 at the school, accompanied the students on the trip.
He said: "The whole project is about the rehumanisation of Auschwitz so that it's not just about facts and figures, which can be quite difficult to process because so many people died.
"It's about focusing on the individuals. I read testimonies from victims at significant places and I think that helped to bring home to the students what had happened. We had testimonies from victims who had worked in the crematoria and gas chambers, making sure everything went smoothly, but knowing that they were going to die too."
Before they went to Auschwitz, Joe and Bridie took part in a seminar where they heard from a Holocaust survivor. When they returned from Poland they attended a follow-up event where they talked about planning their own assemblies on the topic.
Bridie said: "We are coming up with ideas and planning our own lessons and assemblies in school so we can share our experiences.''
Mr Richardson said the trip often made students reflect on their lives. He said: "What happens is that students come back with a different perspective on life, they look at their priorities, think about challenging prejudice and they have a renewed sense of the importance of family."
