Sixth Former writes about Holocaust survivor’s talk

Published: 15 December, 2011

Plymouth College Upper Sixth student, Andrew Walker, took part in a visit to Auschwitz with the Holocaust Education Trust earlier this year.  Last week he attended a talk by Holocaust survivor, Zigi Shipper, and has written the following report...

Zigi Shipper addressed the Upper Sixth for their PSHEE afternoon on Wednesday 7th December. Zigi lived through the Holocaust, spending time in a ghetto, a labour camp and Auschwitz. He gave a powerful talk, not only about his experiences in camps but also about his life following the war. Zigi told the Upper Sixth that he was lucky to have survived the atrocities of the camps and owed it to those who had not survived to continue telling his story.

The students had an opportunity to ask questions after the talk; with topics ranging from how he coped settling into normal life in the years after his escape to his views on the Israeli-Palestine conflict. All were answered with wisdom and a hint of wit, with Zigi himself explaining his philosophy on staying cheerful and never giving up hope, even in times of extreme hardship such as in his experiences.

Only 14 when he was sent to Auschwitz, his story brought up lots of hard-hitting feelings for the senior students, with many commenting on how shaken and deeply touched they were after the talk.