Holocaust Educational Trust welcomes human rights expert and survivor Thomas Buergenthal
On September 14th, Holocaust survivor and world leading authority on human rights Professor Thomas Buergenthal was welcomed as Guest of Honour at the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Appeal Dinner.
Speaking to a crowd of over 300 guest and dignitaries, Professor Buergenthal explained that his appalling experiences as a young man in Auschwitz-Birkenau and Sachshausen continued to drive him in his ‘second life’ as a Judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
He told supporters of the Trust, “It is of course easy to rant against genocide; it is harder to know how to prevent this scourge to humanity. Education, for me, is the most potent weapon against future genocides – and without organisations such as the Holocaust Educational Trust, “Never Again” will remain an empty slogan.”
He was introduced by his lifelong friend Lord Janner of Braunstone QC, Chairman of the Holocaust Educational Trust, who he first met when Lord Janner was working as a British Army war crimes investigator in Germany immediately after the war.
During the evening, the Holocaust Educational Trust also showcased their pilot project to train the children of Holocaust survivors to pass on their parents’ experiences in schools, as one way of ensuring that future generations benefit from first-hand survivor testimony.
Guests also heard from Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and Amrit Kaur Lohia, one of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Student Ambassadors.
You can hear Professor Buergenthal's speech in full as a podcast by clicking here.