Ambassadors of Holocaust education are the ‘candle of hope in the darkness’

Born weighing just three pounds, Eva Clarke survived Mauthausen concentration camp as a baby. Her mother, Anka Nathanová weighed just 35 kilograms when she went into labour. Eva describes how the Nazis would have seen her mother as a “pregnant skeleton”. Her starved physique allowed her to hide her pregnancy – one of many miracles which led to Eva and her mother’s survival.

Holocaust survivor Eva was in conversation with author Wendy Holden at the annual Ambassador Conference of the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET), in central London on Monday. Founded in 1988, the HET arranges visits to schools by Holocaust survivors, designating every student who takes part in the Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz project, as an ambassador.

Eva tells the story of how her father, Bernd Nathan fled Germany to Czechoslovakia as he “thought it was far enough (away) to be safe”. That proved to be wishful thinking. As an architect, Bernd was forced to build nightclubs and restaurants for the Nazis. One of the restaurants was the place where he met his wife, Anka.

Holocaust survivor Eva Clarke BEM being interviewed by author Wendy Holden (Photo: HET)[Missing Credit]

In November 1941, Bernd was one of the first people to be sent to Theresienstadt, where he was commanded to help set it up. Anka was later sent there, and during the three years they were both in the camp, Anka became pregnant. The Nazis viewed this “crime” of bringing Jewish life into the world as worthy of death, but despite this, Anka gave birth to a son. However, he survived for only two months.

The couple were then sent to Auschwitz, with Eva telling the ambassadors: “My brother’s death meant mine and my mother’s life. Had she walked up to [Mengele] holding a baby, she would have certainly been killed.”

They were in Auschwitz for six months, before being sent to Mauthausen. 

Leading up to the miraculous story of her birth on April 29, 1945, Eva explained that just one day earlier, the concentration camp had run out of gas. “My mother gave birth at the gates of the camp.”

She finished her talk with a key message for the ambassadors of Holocaust education. “We must keep telling young people about [the Holocaust]. You can never identify with the six million, but you can identify with one.”

Wendy Holden, who has just released Born Survivors, a book about the stories of three babies born at the end of the Holocaust, one of them being Eva, added: “Never lose your curiosity. Hope is like a candle in the darkness; a million candles can be lit from just one.”

The HET’s biggest event of the year, the Ambassador Conference gave young people from all backgrounds the opportunity to “connect with other like-minded ambassadors, take part in workshops run by experts and hear from exciting keynote speakers”, said organisers.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis addressing the ambassadors (Photo: HET)[Missing Credit]

In attendance was the Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, who told the ambassadors: “Sometimes people unfortunately can be swayed by the rhetoric, by the charisma, by the lies, by bad people. And, as a result, we need to enable the goodness of people to emerge.”

At the conference, the JC spoke to regional ambassadors from across the UK. Dylan from Staffordshire had heard about the HET from his history teacher – a common theme – and after a trip to Poland and the Lessons from Auschwitz project, he returned to his local middle school to “deliver some seminars and sessions, trying to educate students and to get them involved in some activities of their own”.

Aine, from the Southwest, was one of three students from her school who were chosen to go to Poland. “I applied because I have German, Jewish heritage, so it was important to me.” She presented a recorded talk about her experiences and remains involved in Holocaust education today. “I marked Holocaust Memorial Day by doing a podcast in collaboration with my uni. [HET] gives me a platform to share more about what I've learned whilst also pursuing my academic interests.”

Logan had travelled all the way from rural Scotland for the conference. He went to Poland with one other pupil from his school and was interested in “the role of perpetrators. It goes a lot deeper than it having been only the Nazis who committed these atrocities.”

During the day, participants had the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops, from hearing about life in a displaced persons’ camps to contemporary antisemitism.

Educator Alex Maws explained how antisemitism existed in similar ways across the political spectrum. He explained that antisemitism today does not have a hierarchy. “There isn’t one form of antisemitism in particular that most worries me,” he said.

Ambassadors trialling the Holocaust Educational Trust new Testimony 360 programme (Photo: HET)[Missing Credit]

Also present at the conference was Testimony360, a free educational resource provided to UK schools. In a two-and-a-half-hour session, students can virtually visit Jewish towns across Europe, in addition to concentration camps, by means of virtual reality.

Susan Pollack and Manfred Goldberg are two of four survivors who were asked more than 1,000 questions over five days. Students can ask a virtual image of the survivor a question, and AI will match up an accurate answer from the survivor.

As Holocaust survivors are stepping off the world stage, they recognise that the introduction of such new technologies is an effective way to reach so many more students.

Pollack, 96, is comforted that “she will live on through the testimony”, being able to connect with people, even when she is not physically there.

Following the conference, HET chief executive Karen Pollock CBE said: “It was truly inspiring to see hundreds of passionate and committed young ambassadors from across the country and from all backgrounds at this year’s Ambassador Conference. As Holocaust survivors sadly become fewer and frailer, the role of our ambassadors becomes ever more vital in carrying forward their legacy.”

Chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust Karen Pollock CBE (Photo: HET)[Missing Credit]

She added: “In a time of uncertainty and rising antisemitism, it is heartening to stand in a room with so many young people determined to confront anti-Jewish hatred and make a difference.

We are deeply grateful for their dedication, curiosity, and unwavering passion for our cause.”