VE75: Lessons from Auschwitz - a Lincolnshire student shares why we should never forget

Georgia Shucksmith, who attends Lincoln College and comes from the Spilsby area, traveled as part of the Lessons from Auschwitz Project - a nationwide annual scheme run for young people to ensure that those who lost their lives and the survivors are never forgotten - and that the Holocaust can never happen again.

"I decided to take part in this project as I think it’s crucial to learn about the Holocaust and continue to share with the world what happened to the people who became victims of the crime," said Georgia.

"The project was set up with an orientation seminar, a trip to Poland, a follow-up seminar and the next steps which involved sharing our experience with as many people as we can.

"In our orientation seminar, we heard from a brave and inspiring survivor of the Holocaust. I was inspired by the way he picked out the positive moments from his experience.

"Hearing this testimony opened my eyes to the individual lives of the victims of this dreadful event.

"I gained an understanding of the fact that we should talk about the victims as individuals rather than a collective and how important it is to do so.

"It is crucial to remember the way in which everyone was involved, and everyone has a story."

Here is Georgia's account of the trip..:

"We began our visit with a trip to Oświęcim. This once Jewish dominated town was torn apart under German occupation by the Holocaust.

"We visited a small museum with pictures of families who were victims of the Holocaust.

"This allowed me to understand that these were just ordinary people like you and I, who became a part of something so heart-breaking.

"Our next stop was Auschwitz 1. Here, we saw a series of buildings where the prisoners had once lived.

"One building had the possessions of the victims. There was a surreal feeling in this building. Everyone was silent. Everyone felt their pain.

"There were small rooms behind glass cases full of human hair. This was a significantly strange feeling.

"We saw the firing wall where beautiful tributes to those who lost their lives were laid. It was a reminder that we will not forget.

"Our next and final stop was Auschwitz-Birkenau. Walking down the tracks toward Birkenau felt surreal. I had seen so many pictures of those infamous tracks.

"I tried to imagine how those travelling down these tracks into the camp would have felt - that feeling would have been unimaginable.

"When we entered, I felt shocked by the sheer size of Auschwitz Birkenau. It put into perspective the immense scale of this tragedy.

"When we entered the buildings, we learnt about how the prisoner’s lives would have been in the camp and learnt about their jobs.

"This was a further reminder that everyone was an individual.

"Visiting these camps, we saw the dreadful things that had happened there. We saw the inhumane conditions in which the prisoners were having to endure. We saw the gas chambers and places where the victims would have been killed.

"We saw the crematoriums. We saw the huge fences of barbed wire. The perpetrators had attempted to destroy the evidence and make the world forget;

"However, we must keep the memory alive. Everyone played a part in the event - the victims, perpetrators, bystanders and collaborators.

"Seeing the camps raises so many questions about these people.

"Did the perpetrators fight back against their orders or were they too afraid or unbothered by their task? Did the bystanders know what was happening around them? Were they too afraid to ask? Did the collaborators truly know what was going on and did they regret becoming a collaborator? We must remember the roles of everyone involved.

"This experience is crucial for us to share. Mostly, people remember the brave victims as a group of people, when in reality they all had a story, and all played a part in this tragedy.

"As I looked at the picture of those who had been victims in Auschwitz 1 with their heads shaved and wearing the clothes they were given, I realised what the perpetrators had done.

"They attempted to dehumanise these people and create one body to take away their individuality.

"This is what makes remembering the people from this dreadful event so important to remember and remember the individuals who were victims but were also the bravest people.

"We must remember and prevent anything like this happening again.

"Holocaust survivors can continue to remind us of the tragic events of the Holocaust and their bravery can prevent this ever happening again.

"Antisemitism in the UK is growing again, and we must stop this hate. Between January and June 2019 892 antisemitic incidents took place.

"This number should be 0. This discrimination must end. We must continue to build memorials in remembrance and listen to survivors. We cannot let it happen again."