Students at Camborne Science and International Academy gathered to hear a first-hand account from Holocaust survivor Joanna Millan, a grandmother who spent two years in a concentration camp in Theresianstadt, near Prague.

History students in year nine and ten listened as Joanna talked through her harrowing experiences. “It was such a privilege for us to welcome Joanna Millan to our school - her testimony stands as a very powerful and important reminder of the horrors that so many experienced,” said history teacher Ella Wasley, history teacher. “She talks for the Holocaust Educational Trust and having heard her compelling account, we hope our students will be encouraged to learn from the lessons of this devastating atrocity and make a positive impact in their own lives.”

The 180 students heard that Joanna was born Bela Rosenthal in Berlin in 1942. Her father was taken from the streets and sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau where he was murdered on arrival in 1943. Later that year, Bela and her mother were sent to the Theresianstadt ghetto, where her mother succumbed to TB, leaving her orphaned in the camp until she was liberated in 1945.

Along with 299 other surviving orphans, Bela was flown to England and adopted by a Jewish couple from London, and her name was changed to a less German-sounding name, Joanna.

“Our students were captivated and horrified at Joanna’s experiences and totally compelled to listen and share her story,” added Mrs Wasley. “It was clear that they gained a far greater understanding of the Holocaust and the suffering it caused to so many people having listened to a personal account."

Following Joanna’s talk, students were given the chance to ask her questions to explore the Holocaust further. “It is vitally important that we understand the horrors of the past so that we can all play our part in learning from them - we have a shared responsibility for reducing hatred in the world,” said principal at CSIA, Ian Kenworthy. “Our students were given a live testimony and a human story about how it affected those involved.”