Call to speak out for the persecuted

In the run-up to Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27, local schools were visited by Iby Knill, who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp, Patrice Dlamini, who escaped violent oppression in Zimbabwe, and Liesel Carter, who escaped alone from Germany in 1939 at the age of just four.

Organised by Kirklees Council, the thought-provoking visits helped students to think about speaking out on behalf of others when they are suffering persecution or injustice, whether it is witnessed in the playground, local streets, inside or outside the Kirklees district.

Iby and Patrice shared their experiences at Spen Valley Sports College and Community Science College @ Thornhill and North Huddersfield Trust School received a visit from Patrice and Liesel Carter, who escaped from Germany in 1939 and travelled through Sweden and Norway unaccompanied at the age of four.

She was sheltered by a Norwegian family and eventually travelled to England where she settled in Leeds, still aged only five.