11 Jan Holocaust survivor shares his story with local schoolchildren
A Holocaust survivor shared his experiences with local schoolchildren as a special exhibition was officially launched.
Leslie Kleinman, a survivor of Auschwitz and two death marches to Oranienburg and Dachau who was liberated by American soldiers in 1944, gave an emotional recollection to pupils from Lee Chapel Primary School.
Mayor of Basildon, Cllr David Harrison, said: “It is vital that we never forget those who lost their lives as a result of the Holocaust. I commend Leslie and his fellow survivors for finding the strength to talk about their horrific experiences to ensure the atrocities are not forgotten and are never repeated.”
Cllr Harrison added “Future generations must continue to reflect on what lessons we have learnt from the past and send out a clear message that hatred, discrimination and exclusion is not tolerated.”
The schoolchildren were invited to hear him talk earlier this week on the opening day of the ‘No Child’s Play’ exhibition, which will be on display in the foyer of the Towngate Theatre until Friday 12 January. It tells a story of survival as children of the Holocaust struggled to hold onto their lives and attempted to maintain their youth by creating for themselves a different reality from that which surrounded them.
