GREAT Baddow High School pupils heard first hand accounts of the Holocaust from a survivor.

The talk by Edgar Guest was as part of a visit from the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET).

Edgar’s story was one of hardship and discrimination due to his Jewish descent; where he was ignored and isolated at his school, evicted from his home to sleep 30 to a room in a ghetto where over 70,000 people were confined and at age 14 he was so desperate for extra food rations he volunteered to dispose of the dead for an extra mouthful of food.

Carrie Lynch, Headteacher at Great Baddow High School, said: “It is a privilege for us to welcome Edgar Guest to our school and his testimony will remain a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced.

"We are grateful to the Holocaust Educational Trust visiting our school and we hope that by hearing Edgar’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.

"Edgar’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.

“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.”