Dr David Lawson, author of Escape Story: How a Young Girl Survived the Holocaust recently visited the Academy to present a special assembly.

On Friday 18th January the Post 16 team organised an assembly presented by Dr David Lawson, who wrote the book 'Escape Story'. This book tells the story of Eva Erben and how she became caught up in the Holocaust and survived. The timing of the visit is significant as Sunday 27th January is Holocaust Memorial Day as this is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Concentration Camp and the event is dedicated to the victims, both those who lost their lives and those who survived and have had to live with the consequences ever since.

Dr Lawson wrote 'Escape Story' after meeting Eva and being asked to translate her story into English, and the book tells the amazing story of Eva and how her and her mother survived Auschwitz after being separated from her father, only for her mother to die in Eva's arms on a march to another camp. Eva herself admits that she survived the Holocaust through pure luck after being left behind one morning during the march as the German's did not count the dead and Eva has passed out through exhaustion. After running into a German soldier who had deserted the German army she was soon on her way back to her homeland of Czechoslovakia but soon after ran into a German soldier who was ready to shoot her until his friend told him that she wasn't worth the bullets and was almost dead anyway. After running away until she collapsed Eva was discovered by a Czechoslovakian farmer who, along with his family and help from people in his village, nursed her back to health, and didn't turn her over to the Germans.

Please take time to watch the interview below with Dr Lawson.