Last Friday was Holocaust Memorial Day, and we held a very poignant and sobering assembly about the tragic history of the Holocaust, genocide and how to respond to antisemitism in today’s society.

Firstly, we learnt about the role of ordinary lives in the Holocaust, before exploring the world’s response to genocide and antisemitism. The slogan ‘Never Again’ is widely recognised as a post-Holocaust battle-cry, urging the world to end genocide. The importance of Holocaust education in genocide prevention is undeniable, yet as time runs out for survivors to tell their stories first-hand, the world will have to adapt to share this crucial message.

It is wrong to think that antisemitism began and ended with the Holocaust: in much of Europe throughout the Middle Ages, Jewish people were denied citizenship and forced to live in ghettos. Anti-Jewish riots called pogroms swept the Russian Empire during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and anti-Semitic incidents have increased in parts of Europe, the Middle East and North America in the last several years. Heartbreakingly, 2021 was the highest year on record for documented reports of harassment, vandalism and violence directed towards the Jewish people.

On a much happier note, we are blessed with a strong Jewish community amongst our staff and pupils at FHS, which is supported and embraced by our entire School community. It is wonderful that we have a popular and widely attended Jewish Society, which hosts outside-of-school speakers entirely organised by our pupils.

Thank you so much to our pupils and staff who spoke so bravely and so powerfully.

#LightTheDarkness