VIDEO: Worksop and Rhodesia parents take their Holocaust exhibition on the road

The families from Children’s Centres in Manton and Rhodesia decided to educate others after visiting the National Holocaust Centre in Laxton.

The eight parents have worked closely with the centre to create the roadshow that will visit local schools and other public buildings to show people what the Holocaust means for communities today.

Funding had been originally secured to take families from deprived areas to the Holocaust Centre, with the view that they would then take part in a conference and encourage other families to visit.

But this changed after one parent suggested doing a mobile exhibition which could be taken into the community.

After several months of training and preparation, the exhibition by the In Our Hands team went on display at the community centre, off Shrewsbury Road on Friday.

It is now on display at Worksop Library until 17th Febrary and will then be on display at The Crossing in Worksop from 10th-17th March.

Jennie O’Mara, from Worksop, said: “It was originally meant to be a one-off conference, but then a roadshow was mentioned and it just got bigger.”

“We all wanted to volunteer for different reasons. It was the children that were involved that really struck a chord with me.”

The exhibition consists of history boards that explains life before Hitler and the Nazis, the rise of anti-Semitism and the impact the holocaust had on local communities and individuals.

Accompanying the history boards are past, present and future banners that show how events such as the Holocaust effect society today.

Katherine Wall, from Worksop, said: “We all do the Holocaust as a school project, but learning about it again as a parent gives you a totally different perspective.”

“They would have killed my children, and I wouldn’t have had any choice.”

The mother-of-five added: “What really got to me was how much is happening now in society with racism and propaganda.”

“My thought is that we take children once (to the Holocaust Centre) but if they go home and there is racism around them, that is how they are going to live.”

“They are going to grow up thinking that hatred is fine.”

“Parents are the first teachers of children and they need to think about what they are doing and saying because children copy that.”

Carrie Wright, from Rhodesia, added: “I’m involved with this project to help shape a more understanding and tolerant future for my little girl.”

The other parents making up the In Our Hands team are Rebecca Cooling, Adele Sullivan, Mike Wall, Claire Phillips and Joy Clarke.

Click on the link above to see footage from Friday’s exhibition.