27 January 2016

Renewed funding for the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz Project has been confirmed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The £286,000 funding will continue to provide post-16 students from every school and college in Scotland the opportunity to participate in a one-day visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau and attend seminars to learn about the Holocaust as well as hearing testimony from a survivor.

FM @NicolaSturgeon met Lauren & Brandon @HolocaustUK ambassadors to sign Book of Commitment @ScotParl pic.twitter.com/dPSMCWh0ED

— First Minister (@ScotGovFM) January 26, 2016

Signing the Trust’s Book of Commitment in the lead up to Holocaust Memorial Day the FM said:

Last year marked the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. We also commemorated the 20th anniversary of the genocide at Srebrenica. Both anniversaries are a reminder of the consequences that can arise when people are given a license to exploit difference and encourage hatred.

As we mark national Holocaust Memorial Day one way of working to ensure that nothing like the Holocaust ever happens again, is to ensure that it is never forgotten.

By learning and reflecting on the horrors of the Holocaust the Trust plays an important part in spurring us on to create a better future and a society where people respect each other no matter what their differences.”

.@NicolaSturgeon w/ Ambassadors Brendan and Lauren, who also delivered Time for Reflection in @ScotParl today pic.twitter.com/MCHFJVZPQS

— H.E.T. (@HolocaustUK) January 26, 2016

Holocaust Educational Trust Ambassador Brandon Low said:

The Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz Project is a brilliant way of learning the history of the Holocaust, bringing what would usually be a ‘normal’ lesson at school out of the pages of history and into reality. But I think it is much more than a history lesson, it is a life lesson that every young person in Scotland should have the opportunity to experience. As an Ambassador for the Trust I am absolutely dedicated to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive in Scotland.”