“I found all the events on Holocaust day extremely fascinating, Eva Clarke’s talk in particular. Before this day I didn’t have a very deep understanding of the Holocaust, and having an actual person who lived through the time talk about it was incredibly helpful in deepening that understanding. The difference between reading about history from a textbook and listening to an actual person who lived through these historic events is that it is so much easier to paint pictures of the times and circumstances in my head. 

As Eva delivered her talk, she also continuously showed us pictures of life at the time which really helped reinforce what she was talking about. Her story was incredible; the experience was like a story taken straight out of a movie. Not only was it touching and astonishing, she also never forgot to add in the tiniest details, for example, she described ‘the damp donut box’ her mother took with her when she was taken to the first camp and showed us a photo of her relatives before they were deported, and pointed out the ‘the smile on their faces’ as the photo was taken.  These minuscule details made her story so memorable and made me feel so much closer to the real world than if I had simply read about it in a textbook. 

On top of that, she also incorporated universal themes into her talk that affect all humanity, regardless of religion, such as love, friendship, kindness, courage, loyalty, and bravery, all of which made her story even more riveting. I think her story was truly a miracle and it had an incredibly powerful effect on both me and my peers. I believe people like her deserve so much of our respect and I am so grateful for this opportunity to be able to listen and learn from her. Her talk really inspired me to talk to my family more and get to know my own family history better. Overall the day was exceedingly interesting and has made me determined to learn more about Holocaust and participate in more educational activities like these.”