Our annual Holocaust Memorial Ceremony took place today, led by the Jewish Society and bringing the School community together to remember those who perished as well as reflect on how we might contribute to the “Better Future” that constitutes this year’s theme. The Ceremony included poems, the Jewish Memorial Prayer, the lighting of six Candles of Remembrance and addresses from pupils on the importance of both reflection and action.
On Tuesday, pupils from CLS and CLSG were encouraged to engage in active remembrance through a unique partnership with the Wiener Holocaust Library, one of the world’s most expansive archives relating to the period. Taking the poetry of German-speaking Romanian girl Sonja Jaslowitz (1927-1944) as its subject, pupils worked collaboratively on translations of her writing in a workshop led by Miss Manion and hosted by the Library. Ukrainian, Hebrew and Hungarian speaking pupils gave readings, and two pupils performed a musical piece by Leibu Levin who originated from the same region as the Jaslowitz family. Miss Manion had addressed the Upper School in Assembly the previous day, sharing Sonja’s story and detailing the research that had led up to the event including her trip to Bucharest and work in the Library’s archive.
CLS organised the Wiener Library event in collaboration with Dr Peter Morgan, Education Officer at the Library, who also gave pupils a tour of the archive during their visit and delivered an expansive talk contextualising Sonja’s story within the history of the Holocaust in Romania.
