Holocaust survivor visits O Fiaich College

Tomi Reichental

Earlier this week Holocaust survivor Tomi Reichental visited O Fiaich College in Dundalk to give a talk to students.

Tomi spoke to a large gathering about his personal experiences as a child in the Belsen-Bergen concentration camps which were under Nazi rule.

Tomi was just nine years old in October 1944 when he was rounded up by the Gestapo, along with 12 other members of his family and taken to a concentration camp.

In his lecture Tomi informed the students of his harrowing ordeals.

“We lived in the same clothes day and night and the only food we had were boiled turnips and some bread. It was so cold; the temperature there could drop as low as -25C, five or six of us would huddle together with just one blanket for warmth. We starved for months; we were just skin and bone.”

In concluding his lecture, Mr Reichental imparted a strong message to the students present.

“If you see someone abusing someone else, don’t be a bystander – tell them it is wrong and it shouldn’t happen.”

 

A portion of the crowd listening to Tomi

Anne Frank exhibition coming to Dundalk

An aerial shot of a previous exhibition by the Anne Frank Trust UK

An Anne Frank exhibition is scheduled to come to Dundalk this September.

The exhibition, which is run by the Anne Frank Trust in the UK, creates a journey of self-exploration for visitors of Anne’s life.

Anne Frank was one of 1.5 million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Following Anne’s death in 1945, her father, Otto Frank, chose to publish his daughter’s diary in order to spread understanding of her tragic story – with the book selling millions of copies over the decades since its publication in 1947.

The exhibition includes poignant personal photos of Anne and her sister Margot, replica artefacts from Anne’s life and the Holocaust, the chilling genocide tunnel, a near life-size replica of Anne’s bedroom in the Secret Annexe and powerful imagery of modern day social issues.

Full details of the exhibition will be unveiled closer to the time.