“Voices of the Holocaust” will commemorate HMD at the UK’s largest Jewish school

On the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where Holocaust survivor Susan Pollack OBE was sent with her family in the summer of 1944, aged just 13, JFS School in London, the largest Jewish school in the United Kingdom, welcomes back Voices of the Holocaust for an evening of reflection and remembrance. With special guests to be announced, the evening will feature Kindness: A Legacy of the Holocaust—Voices’ groundbreaking play telling Susan’s story in her own words.

To date, Kindness has brought unique insights and profound engagement to over 30,000 students in schools across the country. Voices has been hailed for its “unique ability to bring history to life, allowing participants to step into the shoes of others and deeply connect with their experiences. It transforms abstract events into personal stories, fostering empathy and understanding in a way few other mediums can.” — Angela Cohen MBE (Chair, 45 Aid Society).

Kindness, written by Cate Hollis and leading educational verbatim playwright Mark Wheeller, is an emotional and powerful play centred on the testimony of Hungarian survivor Susan Pollack OBE. In 1944, aged 13, she was transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The play weaves narratives, including the inspiring stories of Mala Zimetbaum and Edek Galinski, against the backdrop of the darkest period in human history. Described as “compelling and empowering,” Kindness ensures that Susan’s legacy and testimony remain with its audience long after the final bow.

Voices of the Holocaust is the sole specialist Holocaust theatre for education charity in Europe, supported by AJR, 45 Aid Society, and the European Jewish Congress, among others. Voices takes verbatim plays and supporting education programmes into schools across the UK, providing crucial learning on the Holocaust and antisemitism that is both engaging and innovative, and internationally award-nominated. It is currently fundraising for its next play, which will focus on Holocaust survivor Harry Olmer MBE.

In 2013, the European Jewish Congress found and embraced this fledgling organisation, supporting the largely non-Jewish team determined to use theatre to ensure the Holocaust remains a clear and present voice in schools across the UK, in what is increasingly ‘the legacy era’. In 2021, when Voices was in danger, the EJC again helped ensure its survival by funding this incredible new testimony-based play. Without this support, Voices would not have survived. Kindness has now engaged over 30,000 students in mainstream schools across England and Wales.

Ahead of the performance, Cate Hollis, Artistic Director of Voices and co-author of Kindness, explains: “As the events of the Holocaust, the most disturbing example of human failure in history, move increasingly from living memory, Kindness is tasked with speaking on behalf of that lived experience. It acts as a conduit for the experiences that it asks the audience to engage with and consider, and it speaks directly to each and every one of us. It does so with grace and dignity, re-humanising experiences for those for whom the dehumanisation of the Holocaust was all too real. It asks us all to bear witness.”

She continues: “Voices was founded on the belief that theatre, if used appropriately, could act as a ‘surrogate human voice’—both for those who never had the chance to testify and for those fearing their voices and connection to communities may be lost in the future. It speaks immediately and directly, but not exclusively, to students in schools across the UK and offers educational opportunities to help students and teachers begin to unpick the complex lessons of this most challenging and disturbing period in our history.”

Of their partnership with Voices, Michael Newman OBE (CEO of The Association for Jewish Refugees) states: “Among the few dozen educational projects we have supported in recent years, Voices of the Holocaust stands out for its truly unique approach to educating about the Holocaust. Kindness strikes a balance between art and history. Verbatim theatre puts Susan Pollack’s own words into the mouths of talented actors. This way, the play becomes something more than just entertainment—it is mediated testimony.”

To secure tickets for the performance on 27th January 2025, please visit: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/kindness.

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