Pupils at schools across Swansea have been marking Holocaust Memorial Day with special events and assemblies.
Cefn Hengoed Community School took the lead role on behalf of all children in Swansea as part of official commemorations of the day.
Pupils in Years 7 and 8 staged a special assembly featuring music, poetry and drama for their peers as well as special guests including Lord Mayor Cllr Richard Lewis and Norma Glass, a board member of the Deputies of British Jews.
Heather Cooper, assistant head at Cefn Hengoed, said Holocaust Memorial Day holds a special place in the school’s calendar, not least because some children from the local Polish community attend the school.
Many thousands of Poles perished in the Holocaust and Auschwitz, whose liberation on January 27, 1945, is commemorated by Holocaust Memorial Day, was one of a number of Nazi concentration camps in the country.
Mrs Cooper said: “The Polish children interviewed their grandparents about their experiences and they read them out at the special assembly. It was very poignant and the direct link between the generations makes it very real for everyone.
“We have children from 20 or 30 nationalities attending the school and they learn so much about respect for other people and other cultures on account of that. It’s through special assemblies like these that pupils learn about the importance of treating people equally.”
Norma Glass said the Cefn Hengoed commemoration and a special ceremony at the city’s Guildhall were very moving.
She said: “I know many schools in Swansea were holding Holocaust Memorial Day events. And it was a privilege to be among the audience at Cefn Hengoed. The staff and pupils there went to a great deal of effort to present such a moving assembly.
“The message from Cefn Hengoed and from the Guildhall needs to reach as many people as possible, especially our young people.”
