THEY are a dwindling band of living treasures, but Australia’s remaining Holocaust survivors still have a key role to play in educating our youth.
As studying the Holocaust is rolled out in both years 11 and 12 in high school in 2018, they represent a trove of firsthand experience of the best and worst of humanity.
Across the country about 7000 survivors remain of the 27000 who immigrated here after World War II. In Sydney there are about 3000, of whom 30 regularly speak of their experiences through talks organised by the Sydney Jewish Museum
We never talked about the Holocaust for many many years … no one was interested and we were not ready
Today, some of those survivors will gather at the museum in Darlinghurst to commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz and the UN Holocaust Memorial Day.
When you speak to many of the survivors who volunteer their time at the museum a sense of urgency is clear. Over the years, the number of adult survivors of the war has diminished and their testimonies are a valuable resource that will not be around forever.
To address this, the museum is expanding to incorporate a new Holocaust and Human rights area and exhibition that will run education programs and will be launched in February.
Read the full article by Angira Bharadwaj and Georgia Hing at The Daily Telegraph.