As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, it is often easy to lose sight of the individual stories in the scale of the atrocities committed in Auschwitz-Birkenau and the other death camps. Yet this history continues to leave an indelible legacy on millions of individual lives. The commemoration was marked at Sutton by hearing the individual family history of Mrs Luck’s relatives – all but one of whom were killed at Auschwitz. Mrs Luck’s grandmother – Lela – was a member of the Jewish communities of Salonica and Athens and as her granddaughter she shared her family’s stories of persecution and survival. As we increasingly come the end of the lives of the eyewitnesses of these atrocities, it grows more important to find ways to pass this history between generations. We are grateful to Mrs Luck for doing that so movingly for our community.
Mr Unwin, Trust Consultant Teacher for the Humanities, Head of History
