4 Inspired to act by family history: Jedd The authors of these articles are Ben and Jedd, high school students from New York. It is an honour for us British students to be collaborating with them to make this a transAtlantic project. Ben and Jedd share our passion for raising awareness of the Holocaust and other genocides. were sent on a death march. During this march, my great uncle tragically fell ill and could no longer continue on foot. After staying together throughout the Holocaust, my grandfather and great uncle thought that they would never see each other again. Once my grandfather and his brother were separated, the soldier leading the death march ordered his guards not to shoot. My great uncle was then able to rest and revive and continue the march. As to not let the Nazi regime take anything else from him, my great uncle went town to town searching for his brother and miraculously found him. They reconnected, were put in an orphanage, and decided to go to America together. They arrived in Ellis Island as orphaned teenagers with only the clothes on their backs. Although both my grandfather and great uncle are no longer alive, they both had beautiful families and made successful careers for themselves. My great uncle went on to become a professor and get his doctorate and my grandfather became a successful lawyer. Since learning about what my family went through during the Holocaust, I have felt a personal connection to fighting any form of hate today, most notably antisemitism. I am passionate about working with groups that aim to fight antisemitism I come from a family that is deeply affected by the events of both at home, here in the United States, and abroad. Currentthe Holocaust. Many members of my family perished but my ly, I am interning with an organization that fights antisemitism by educating both children and adults on how to fight back grandfather and great uncle survived. against hate against the Jewish people. As a third-generation Holocaust survivor, it is my responsibility to partake in internIn 1939, the Nazi persecution of Jewish people began in Poland, and by 1942 my family was placed in the Warsaw Ghetto. ships like the aforementioned one and stand up against all forms of hatred. When the Ghetto was liquidated, my great grandfather was tragically killed and my grandfather, great uncle and great grandmother were sent to Majdanek for selection. During this We live in a society where people have many avenues to spread hate; hate has most recently manifested itself over process, my great grandmother was killed, leaving my thensocial media, where people are able to coward behind screens teenage grandfather and great uncle as orphans. while incessantly posting and spreading harmful pictures and The brothers were then sent to different camps and were for- speech. I know that it is my civic duty as the grandson of a Holocaust survivor and as a citizen to stand up against hate in all tunate enough to be able to stay together. As the U.S forces were coming to stop the Nazis in 1945 and rescue the victims forms and act for what is right; I know this is what my grandfather would not only wish from me, but insist on to ensure that of the Holocaust, my grandfather and great uncle, along with others never face the atrocities that our family once endured. the other victims of the concentration camp they were in, My grandfather, Abraham Frydman (right), and great uncle Louis Frydman (left), at my grandfather's wedding.
A joint message from British and American students: ‘After the horrors of the Holocaust were revealed the world said ‘Never Again’. Sadly, this promise was not to be realised…as genocides occurred not ‘never again’ but again, again and again. As students on both sides of the Atlantic we are fortunate to learn in excellent schools. However, we know that awareness of genocide is very low amongst young people in Britain and in America. The pressures of time mean that it is rare for genocides to be taught in classrooms whether they be in London or New York. Therefore, we, as students in Britain and America, believe that it is up to us to raise awareness. It is up to us to educate ourselves, to learn about genocide and to make sure that it is our generation that makes sure that ‘Never Again’ becomes a reality.’
