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Schools from across Essex and Suffolk took part in a special day at the University of Essex focused on the Holocaust to mark the launch of this year’s Dora Love Prize.

The Prize was established in memory of Dora Love, a Holocaust survivor who lived in Colchester from the late 1960s and spent much of her life after her liberation raising awareness about the attitudes which made the Holocaust possible – intolerance and discrimination.

The schools taking part were Gosfield School from Halstead, Newmarket Academy, Northgate High School from Ipswich, St Bernard's High School from Westcliff-on-Sea and William Edwards School from Grays.

Their students will now develop projects which can cover history, religious studies, performance, art or politics which they will present at a special prize evening during the University’s Holocaust Memorial Week in January next year.

During the day students heard from Holocaust survivor Frank Bright and event organiser Professor Rainer Schulze from the Department of History at Essex, and then took part in workshops investigating the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day in 2016 which is ‘Don’t Stand By’.

Workshops looked at forgotten victims of Nazi persecution such as disabled people, Roma, and gay men, Jewish resistance during the Holocaust and modern day discrimination against Roma, Gypsies and Travellers.

The Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 students, also learnt to express their ideas through art, poetry and theatre in workshops led by artist Alison Stockmarr and performance practitioners Jordana Golbourn and Filiz Ozcan.

The Prize goes to the project which expresses best what was most important to Dora: speaking up against hatred wherever it occurs, never forgetting the ultimate consequence of seemingly small acts of discrimination and developing a sense of personal responsibility.

Professor Schulze said: “The workshops were designed to add a new dimension to what these students knew about the Holocaust.

“Through the Dora Love Prize we are continuing her work to educate young people about the Holocaust. This is an opportunity to remember the past in order to act responsibly in the present.”

Schools can still come forward to take part in the Dora Love Prize: participation is open to all Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 students from Essex and Suffolk. If you would like to find out more email: hjmort@essex.ac.uk.