A HOLOCAUST survivor who once shared a concentration camp with Anne Frank before being liberated by the Red Army has given a powerful testimony to students at Farnborough Hill School.

Rudi Oppenheimer, whose visit was organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust, was born in 1931 in Berlin and lived there with his parents and his older brother Paul until he was four years old.

In 1936, to escape increasing Nazi persecution, the Oppenheimers managed to move to Holland following a short spell in Britain where Rudi’s sister, Eve, was born.

In May 1940 the Nazis invaded Holland and by October 1942, Jews were being rounded up and deported. Rudi and his family, who had been living in Amsterdam since May 1942, were temporarily spared deportation as his father was working for the Jewish Council.

Owing to Eve’s status as a British citizen, Rudi’s family were classified as ‘Exchange’ Jews, which meant that they might be exchanged for Germans captured by the Allies and were to be exempt from certain measures taken against other Jews.

This allowed Rudi and his family to remain in the Westerbork transit camp until February 1944, at which point they were deported to Bergen-Belsen in Germany, where Anne Frank would be sent later that year.

As Exchange Jews, Rudi and his family received certain privileges. Nevertheless, the family suffered terrible living conditions and in January 1945, Rudi’s mother died, followed two months later by the death of his father.

On April 10, 1945, the Oppenheimer children were on the last train to leave Bergen-Belsen. After travelling for 14 days they awoke on the train to find that the SS guards had gone; they recognised soldiers from the Russian army and realised that they had been liberated.

The Oppenheimers had family in London, so it was here that they headed to join their uncle and aunt. Rudi is now retired and talks regularly about his wartime experiences in schools and universities across the country.

His testimony was followed by a question and answer session to enable pupils to better understand the nature of the Holocaust and to explore its lessons in more depth.

Alex Neil, head of Farnborough Hill, said: “It is a privilege for us to welcome Rudi Oppenheimer to our school; his 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 Rudi’s testimony, it will encourage our students to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust and make a positive difference in their own lives.”

Rudi’s visit was part of the trust’s extensive all year round Outreach Programme, which is available to schools across the UK.

Karen Pollock MBE, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust added: “Rudi’s story is one of tremendous courage during horrific circumstances and by hearing his testimony, students will have the opportunity to learn where prejudice and racism can ultimately lead.”