In the first of today's blogs for Holocaust Memorial Day 2015, Holocaust survivor Zigi Shipper blogs on why he delivers his testimony to thousands of people across the country through the Trust's Outreach Programme.
My name is Zigi Shipper and I am a Holocaust survivor. I regularly share my testimony in schools, colleges and communities across the country because I want people to know what can happen because of bigotry and hatred. I receive so many positive comments from the students I talk to and people are always so interested to hear my testimony. I suppose that’s why I continue to do it, I feel like I’m giving something to the people who come to listen to me and I enjoy meeting young people Sometimes my family will try to tell me that I’m working too hard but they know it’s a waste of time and that I won’t listen to them and carry on anyway!
I would like to thank the Holocaust Educational Trust because it is thanks to them that the majority of Holocaust survivors that I know are able to go into schools and colleges and tell their story. What the Trust have done through their Ambassador Programme [a network of over 19,000 young people who have taken part in the Lessons from Auschwitz Project] is amazing. As I get older, I worry what will happen when the survivors are gone, who is going to carry on my story. The Ambassadors I meet are so enthusiastic and I know that they will ensure that the Holocaust will not be forgotten when we survivors are no longer here.
After everything that I went through in life, all the camps, ghettos and persecution that I had to endure, I’m pleased to say that I am a happy man with a wonderful family. I don’t fear visiting Auschwitz; whenever I go I am pleased and reassured to see so many people there. As long as people keep visiting Auschwitz and continue to want to learn about and remember the Holocaust I am confident that it will not be forgotten.
Zigi Shipper visits schools throughout the country through the Trust’s Outreach Programme. To find out more, visit http://www.het.org.uk/index.php/education-general/outreach-programme