Jewish News has ,mpaign showed how, at its best, social media can honour memory, challenge indifference, and bring people together across generations and communities to see one another more deeply.”
Joan Salter. Jewish News & FA. Pic: Simon Hill
Justin Cohen, who conceived the initiative, said: “There’s no shortage of news about the harms caused by social media but this project was a reminder of its power for good too. Thank you to 8original and all our partners without whom this wouldn’t have been possible and especially to the inspirational survivors who continue to travel up and down the country to relay the message of where hate can lead, embracing new technologies as they do so.”
Arsenal’s World Cup winner Per Mertesacker met Belsen survivor Alfred Garwood at the Emirates and Janine Webber, who was a hidden child in Poland during the war, spoke to Lioness and Chelsea legend Katie Chapman at Stamford Bridge last week. At Wembley, John Hadju, who was liberated from the Budapest ghetto, sat down with former Tottenham defender Ledley King and West Ham’s Carlton Cole heard the powerful testimony of Dr Martin Stern, who was taken to a concentration camp aged just five. Brighton’s Glenn Murray heard from Joan Salter how she and her mother avoided capture just a day after being smuggled out of Paris in a laundry van when warned their names were on the list for the first deportation of women and girls.
HMDT chief executive Olivia Marks-Woldman said: “This award is amazing! It all started with a simple belief: Holocaust survivors’ testimonies hold lessons we all need to hear. Bringing together survivors and football legends was hugely special. Their conversations showed us just how powerful human connection can be; simple chats bridging generations and helping new audiences understand why the systematic murder of six million Jews must never be forgotten. To our dear survivors, thank you, for so generously sharing your powerful testimonies. And to the Premier League clubs and our friends at Jewish News, your passion and dedication made it possible to reach – and really connect with – an extraordinary 2.2 million people.”
