DORA LOVE PRIZE 2015-16
I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.
We must always take sides.
Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.
Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
Elie Wiesel
DON’T STAND BY!
© Rainer Schulze, 2015
Induction Day at the University of Essex
for key stage 2/3 students from Essex and Suffolk
Thursday, 24 September 2015
Programme of the day:
(all activities take place in the new Essex Business School)
9.30 Arrival and Registration
9.45 Welcome by Professor Rainer Schulze
10.00 Opening Talk by Frank Bright:
Keeping the Memory of my Classmates Alive
10.30 Introduction to the Workshops
11.00 Workshops 1
11.45 Break
11.55 Workshops 2
12.40 Lunch Break (there are various options available on campus)
13.45 Work in School Groups
16.00 Concluding Plenary Session
16.30 Close
Workshops (all workshops run in sessions 1 and 2):
Group A: Jewish Resistance during the Holocaust (Martin Winstone)
It is often suggested that the Jews of Europe did not fight back against Nazi persecution and
murder during the Second World War. This interactive session challenges this myth of inaction by
highlighting the varied ways in which Europe’s Jews sought to resist the Holocaust, and the
challenges that they faced, through study of a range of examples which also help us to remember
the humanity of ordinary individuals and communities faced with extraordinary situations.
Group B: ‘Forgotten’ Victims of the Holocaust (Rainer Schulze)
The Nazis did not only target Jews in their obsession of creating a homogenous and ‘pure’ national
community. We want to look at the other victims of the Holocaust which are all too often forgotten,
in particular the Sinti and Roma (usually labelled as ‘Gypsies’), disabled people and gay men, and
discuss why their lives, too, were deemed unworthy by the Nazis.
Group C: Modern Day Discrimination against Gypsies, Roma and Travellers (Jim Davies)
Having been at the receiving end of racial abuse himself as a member of the Romany Gypsy
community, Jim will discuss why Roma, Gypsies and Travellers continue to be one of the most
rejected ethnic groups in Britain and all across Europe, and what can be done to battle the
persistent prejudices and discrimination.
Group D: A Road of Change: Banner Making (Alison Stockmarr)
Your voice is important. We look at this year’s theme ‘Don’t Stand By’ by exploring the use of
banners and their importance in the use of shaping change. If you could make a banner to say
something important, what would it say? In this hands-on session you will have the opportunity to
create a mini banner to inspire you with your project.
Group E: Poetry and Performance (Jordana Golbourn)
Looking at Dora Love’s Poems and responding through performance participants will gain an
understanding of the power of the individual voice. The session is aimed at developing confidence
and encouraging expression through drama.
Group F: The Eight Stages of Genocide (Filiz Ozcan)
Through specifically tailored arts activity we explore and expose the eight stages of genocide. Our
button based interactive activity will inspire discussion surrounding the practical steps to eliminate
each of the eight stages of genocide and how best to promote tolerance and understanding. We
draw links to recent events around the world and explore how to utilise the arts in an
interdisciplinary way to help communicate your message.
Group G: Escaping Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport (Ruth Barnett)
Ruth came to England from Berlin in 1939 as a four-year-old on the Kindertransport. She will talk
about her own escape from Nazi persecution and question today’s treatment of current refugees
as illegal, inferior and unwanted.
All students are expected to attend two of the seven workshops: one more content-based (A, B or
C), and one more arts-based (D, E or F). Workshop G can be combined with either a more
content-based or a more arts-based workshop. Teachers are encouraged to divide their students
evenly over the seven workshops. In the afternoon, students will return to their school groups.
They have around two hours with their teacher(s) to talk about their morning experiences and
discuss what kind of project they want to undertake in the coming two months. Workshop leaders
will be available for advice and moving from group to group. At the end of the afternoon, all groups
should have sketched out a preliminary plan which they will present to the other groups at the
concluding plenary session.
Projects can come from any area, ranging from the creative and performing arts to history,
religious studies and politics and including projects based in the local community – reflecting and
taking up the official themes for Holocaust Memorial Day in Britain chosen each year by the UK
Holocaust Memorial Day Trust: the Dignity of Difference (2007), Stand Up To Hatred (2009),
Speak Up, Speak Out (2012), Communities Together: Build A Bridge (2013), Journeys (2013),
Keep the Memory Alive (2015), Don’t Stand By (the official theme for Holocaust Memorial Day
2016).
The structure of the day is deliberately such that students will have a great deal of freedom in what
they ask and what they discuss and produce, and I hope that this will be both inspiring and lead to
some powerful outcomes. It is all about communication and cooperation.
The arts-based workshops have been arranged by Kate Beckwith: Kate is the Arts Education
Outreach Officer at the University of Essex. She puts together the Arts Education Outreach
Programme and works with academics to help young people respond creatively to a variety of
subject areas and exhibitions. Please contact her at [email protected] for additional arts
support with your project or any other enquiries. Kate also works for the Holocaust Memorial Day
Trust (HMDT) as the East of England Regional Support Worker. HMDT have a huge variety of
excellent resources available to help you mark HMD.
Please contact her at [email protected].
Speakers and Workshop Leaders
Dale Banham: Dale is Deputy Headteacher at Northgate High School. He worked for four years
as Humanities Adviser for Suffolk schools during which time he worked closely with Frank Bright to
establish an annual Holocaust memorial event for Suffolk schools. Dale also published textbooks
on modern world history and Nazi Germany.
Ruth Barnett: Ruth was born in Berlin into a Jewish family and came to Britain in 1939 at the age
of 4, together with her 7-year old brother. She worked as a secondary-school teacher and a
psychotherapist and is now busy giving talks, seminars and workshops with the aim of
challenging stereotypes and prejudice.
Frank Bright: Frank was born in Berlin into a Jewish family. They fled to Prague in June 1938
where the Germans caught up with them again when they invaded Czechoslovakia in March 1939.
His parents were killed in the Holocaust. Frank survived and has lived in England since June 1946,
working as a civil engineer. Since his retirement, he has dedicated much of his time to tracking
down what happened to his Jewish classmates during the Holocaust, and sharing their stories with
History students of all ages. He regularly talks at schools, providing students with invaluable
support for their studies of the Holocaust.
Jim Davies: Jim is an English Romany Gypsy Police Officer at Thames Valley Police, and one of
the founders and current Chair of the Gypsy Roma Traveller Police Association (GRTPA), a
support network for police personnel who are from a GRT background, which was launched in
March 2014.
Jordana Golbourn: Jordana is a theatre maker, facilitator and creative learning practitioner. She
specialises in youth theatre, directing ensembles and devising education programmes that use
drama as a tool to enhance learning. She works in London and around the country with companies
including Almeida Theatre, Shakespeare Schools Festival and MakeBelieve Arts.
Filiz Ozcan: Filiz is the Participation and Young People’s Director at the Mercury Theatre. She is
also one of the co-founder of Komola Collective, London base arts company. Previously, Filiz
worked for Pegasus Theatre, Aloff Theatre, Jacksons Lane, New Vic Theatre, Trestle Theatre,
Culturepot Global, Parrabbola, Gdanski Shakespeare Festival and Tara Arts.
Rainer Schulze: Rainer is Professor of Modern European History at the University of Essex. He
was prominently involved in the development of a new permanent exhibition at the site of the
notorious concentration camp Bergen-Belsen in northwest Germany. He is the co-ordinator of the
annual Holocaust Memorial events at the University of Essex, and founding editor of the journal
The Holocaust in History and Memory.
Alison Stockmarr: Alison is a successful practicing artist and experienced workshop tutor with an
ethos of recycling and storytelling at its heart. As a materials-led artist she distils her finds into
scenarios that allude to the past, with a nod to the present. Her work is exhibited in galleries
throughout Britain and abroad.
Martin Winstone: Martin is an Education Officer for the Holocaust Educational Trust, where he is
responsible for the creation of educational resources. He is the author of The Holocaust Sites of
Europe, a guide to Holocaust-related sites across the continent, and The Dark Heart of Hitler’s
Europe, a history of the General Government, the region of Nazi-occupied Poland which was the
principal killing site of the Holocaust.
_____________________
On Thursday, 8 October 2015, 1.00 to 4.00 pm , the annual UK Holocaust Memorial Day Trust
East of England Regional Workshop will be held at the University of Essex, Colchester
Campus. The workshop is aimed at existing and new organisers of Holocaust Memorial Day
activities. Attendance is free of charge, and booking is now open.
Some useful websites:
Holocaust Educational Trust: het.org.uk
UK Holocaust Memorial Day Trust: http://hmd.org.uk
Holocaust Centre: holocaustcentre.net/the-journey
Jewish Museum London: http://www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
The Wiener Library: wienerlibrary.co.uk
Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR): ajr.org.uk
London Jewish Cultural Centre (LJCC): theholocaustexplained.org
Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau: http://en.auschwitz.org.pl
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: http://www.ushmm.org
Yad Vashem, Jerusalem: http://www.yadvashem.org
USC Shoah Foundation Institute: http://dornsife.usc.edu/vhi
Yale University Library, Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies:
http://www.library.yale.edu/testimonies/index.html
Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles/New York/Jerusalem:
http://www.museumoftolerance.com; http://www.museumoftolerancenewyork.com;
http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=lsKWLbPJLnF&b=5505225
Simon Wiesenthal Centre: http://www.wiesenthal.com
The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity: http://www.eliewieselfoundation.org
Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org
European Roma Rights Centre, Budapest: http://www.errc.org
UK Gypsy Council: http://www.gypsy-association.co.uk
Disability Rights UK: http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org
UK Equality and Human Rights Commission: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com
UK Lesbian and Gay Foundation (LGF): http://www.lgf.org.uk
Stonewall: the lesbian, gay and bisexual charity: http://www.stonewall.org.uk