MORE than 230 students from All Hallows Catholic School heard a testimony from Holocaust survivor Joan Salter last week as part of a visit organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET).

The testimony was followed by a question and answer session to enable students to better understand the nature of the Holocaust and to explore its lessons in more depth. The visit is part of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s extensive all year round Outreach Programme, which is available to schools across the UK.

Joan Salter was born Fanny Zimetbaum in Brussels, Belgium on February 15, 1940. After her father was arrested and managed to escape back to Belgium, the family decided that it would be safer for them to move to Paris.

In June 1941, male Jews in Paris were being rounded up but her father managed to hide and escape to Lyon in Vichy France.

Every week, women and children had to register at the local police station as enemy aliens. One week, a police officer told Joan’s mother that deportations of women and children were due to start the next day and that the family’s names were on the list.

The Resistance helped the family to escape Paris in the middle of the night and they joined Joan’s father in a village outside of Lyon.

Joan’s father was once again arrested but managed to escape to Spain. Fearing that Spain would soon be occupied by the Nazis, he escaped to Portugal and contacted the British Embassy which drafted him into the Pioneer Corps.

Joan, her half-sister, Lilane, and her mother travelled over the Pyrenees mountains into Spain in the winter of 1942/43. They were captured by Spanish police and Joan and her mother were put into prison while Lilane was sent to a convent.

The American government had agreed to rescue children so Joan and Lilane left Lisbon by boat. On arrival, Joan was taken by a foster family and had her name changed from Fanny to Joan.

Lilane was very traumatised by her experiences and found it difficult to settle so moved around foster homes. In 1947, Joan and Lilane were reunited with their parents who were living in the UK.

Joan, 77, now lives in London and regularly shares her testimony in schools and colleges across the country.

All Hallows’ headteacher Patrick Doyle said: “It is a privilege for us to welcome Joan Salter to our school and her testimony will remain a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced.

“We are grateful to the Holocaust Educational Trust for co-ordinating the visit and we hope that by hearing Joan’s testimony, it will encourage our students to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust and make a positive difference in their own lives.”

Karen Pollock MBE, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust added: “The Holocaust Educational Trust educates and engages students from across the UK, from all communities about the Holocaust and there can be no better way than through the first-hand testimony of a survivor.

“Joan’s story is one of tremendous courage during horrific circumstances and by hearing her testimony, students will have the opportunity to learn where prejudice and racism can ultimately lead.

“At the trust, we impart the history of the Holocaust to young people, to ensure that we honour the memory of those whose lives were lost and take forward the lessons taught by those who survived.”