The King has spoken of his pain at the dwindling number of Holocaust survivors as he kicked off the UK’s commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Charles III met 94-year-old survivor Manfred Goldberg during an event at Buckingham Palace on the day it was confirmed he would join other world leaders at the notorious camp later this month.
Manfred, 94, who survived concentration camps, including Stutthof, and a death march when just a schoolboy, said the first thing the King mentioned was the trip, saying: “I feel I must go for the anniversary, (it’s) so important.”
The monarch was introduced to students and teachers from a Cheney School in Oxford who were among the community groups, interfaith activists and prisoners to take part in the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s 80 candles for 80 years project. The school collaborated with the Rumble Museum and Museum of Oxford to learn about survivor Anita Laskar-Wallfish, who was part of the women’s orchestra at Auschwitz. The result is a candleholder that includes broken glass to represent her time in the camp as well as musical motifs.
King Charles III speaking to students involved in the ‘Echo Eternal’ project during a reception marking Holocaust Memorial Day at Buckingham Palace in London.
HMDT CEO Olivia Marks-Woldman told the King that the initiative had encouraged creativity from the most destructive of times, while chair Laura Marks said the 80 candleholders will be showcased in a special digital exhibition on Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January – stressing the challenge to represent the stories of survivors when they are no longer with us.
One answer to that challenge is provided in the Holocaust educational Trust’s Testimony 360 project which the King was introduced to by CEO Karen Pollock and chair Craig Leviton. Launched last year and used by schoolchildren across the country, it uses VR technology to enable students to ask a virtual Goldberg hundreds of questions about his experiences in the Shoah.
HET ambassadors Phoebe Kim Wei Yue Winter and Jake Grey and Sacred Heart School students Lara Moreyra Gouveia and Victor Luiz Carvalho De Jesus, who have taken part in the programme, spoke of its impact, prompted by an intrigued monarch who quizzed the youngsters on their studies. He also took his chance to ask the VR Manfred a question.
The King with Natasha Kaplinsky, a member of the United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial Foundation advisory board and school children
Manfred was asked by Charles about his 2017 meeting with the Prince and Princess of Wales at Stuttof and later said of the King’s decision to join the Auschwitz commemoration: “I find it almost difficult to put into words, and I’m not often lost for words. But I think it is an astounding affirmation by His Majesty that he fully understands the colossal injustice and atrocity that was perpetrated against Jewish people during the Holocaust.
“He seems to have made it an active component of his life to do what he can to ensure that people become aware. He, like me, is trying to spread knowledge that once people understand what the Holocaust represents, I think every single one contributes to preventing it ever happen again. Silence never helps the oppressed.” He also expressed concern for the future of the country “not because of politics, because of the social media platforms”.
The King said he “couldn’t bare” that survivors were becoming fewer in number and described Manfred as “extraordinary” for continuing with his work in reaching young people about the lessons of the Holocaust. “It was nice to hear that from the King,” Manfred, who was accompanied by his wife, told reporters.
The event concluded with a moving performance by Echo Eternal, a project of the CORE Education Trust and the National Youth Music Theatre which encourages school groups to create artistic responses to survivor testimony. The performance featured comments from the late survivor Zigi Shipper urging young people not to be consumed by hate.
Pollock said: “As antisemitism continues to surge across the globe, today’s event reminds us of the urgency of educating where antisemitism and hatred can lead. We are profoundly grateful for His Majesty’s support and dedication to this critical work.”
