Time for
Reflection
The Presiding Officer
(Alison Johnstone)
Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for
reflection. Our time for reflection leaders today are Holly
Cameron and Aidan Coleman, who are Holocaust Educational Trust
ambassadors.
Holly Cameron (Holocaust
Educational Trust Ambassador)
Hi. My name is Holly Cameron, and this is Aidan Coleman, and we
are ambassadors for the Holocaust Educational Trust. We took part
in the trust’s lessons from Auschwitz project as students from
Cumbernauld academy in November 2022. As part of the project, we
heard from a Holocaust survivor and took part in a one-day visit
to Auschwitz-Birkenau. On our return, we are sharing what we have
learned with our school community.
I wanted to take part in the project because I have a passion for
history, and it was an opportunity to advance my knowledge and to
ensure that the stories of the victims are remembered for as long
as possible.
As part of the project, we were privileged to hear from Holocaust
survivor Eva Clarke BEM. Hearing her testimony—the story of her
mother’s survival and Eva’s birth in Mauthausen concentration
camp—was incredibly powerful. I am inspired by her dedication to
keeping those memories alive when so many people cannot do so.
The visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau was extremely impactful, and I
continued to learn about those who lost their lives as more than
just a statistic—as individual people. I found visiting Birkenau
particularly shocking. It was so vast and seemed never ending. I
do not think that I will ever be able to forget that.
Aidan Coleman (Holocaust
Educational Trust Ambassador)
For our next steps project, we plan to deliver a presentation to
the secondary 3, 4 and 5 history classes, in which we will pass
on what we have learned about the Holocaust and the importance of
preserving both its history and the memory of those who were
murdered.
It is so important that, as young people—and especially as the
trust’s ambassadors—we continue to encourage our peers and the
wider community to learn about and remember the Holocaust,
because it is a reminder of the destruction that mankind is
capable of. It is crucial that the Holocaust is never forgotten
so that it can never be repeated.
The theme of Holocaust memorial day this year is “Ordinary
People”. The theme encourages us to think of those who died and
those who survived as people just like us. We need to study both
the fate of those who were murdered during the Holocaust and
their lives before they were victims in order to keep their
memories alive and demonstrate the diversity that was lost.
Thank you so much for inviting us to lead time for reflection and
to share our experience and reflections on why Holocaust
education is so important for young people. [Applause.]
