Pupils from Orleans Park and Teddington School attended a talk given by a holocaust survivor last month.
On April 24, the students listened to Steven Frank, originally from the Netherlands, talk about his experiences under the Nazis.
Mr Frank, who spoke at Waldegrave School, spent much of his youth in Theresienstadt in Czechoslovakia, which is a concentration camp with a unique history as it was used in Nazi propaganda.
Theresienstadt was described as a “spa town” where elderly German Jews could “retire” in safety - of the 15,000 children held there, only 93 survived the war.
Waldegrave history teacher Shelley Havord said: “Steven is a wonderful speaker – he gave a heart-warming account of his perfectly normal early childhood in Amsterdam, which then contrasted very painfully with his experiences under the Nazis.
“The students were both horrified and fascinated by Steven’s story, and hopefully his testimony of what can happen when hatred is allowed to rule will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”
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