
This week’s Cathedral Services focussed on Holocaust Memorial Day, which this year commemorated the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. In the Senior service Mr Medhurst spoke on our widening perspective of the Holocaust in popular consciousness and asked the question “Where was God in Auschwitz?”, while the Preparatory School Service detailed the moving story of Hana Brady, an eleven year Czech Jew, one of a quarter of a million children murdered at the hands of the Nazis. The focus was retained in the Lower Sixth “Banned Book” elective, which this week explored Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel “Maus” detailing the lives of his parents, both of whom were Holocaust survivors.
To conclude matters, the first of the term’s Zetountes lectures examined “Art and the Holocaust”. The talk explored the motives of contemporary artists whose work variously offered an escape from reality and spiritual resistance, at the same time recognising that “when people are dead and their testimony is mute, art remains”. Consideration was given to Jewish victims such as Felix Nussbaum, gassed in Auschwitz, war-artists who depicted the liberation of camps like Bergen-Belsen and Majdanek, survivors like Samuel Bak and contemporary painters, including Anselm Kiefer, whose monumental works address German collective guilt.
Related Posts
Some of our Pre-Prep children met a special visitor on the 13 June when HRH, the Duchess of Edinburgh visited the secret gardens behind the Cathedral. She toured the gardens and spoke to some of our pupils who were accompanied by Mr Charles and Mrs Crozer.
Today, the Cathedral was filled with pride and celebration as parents, pupils and staff came together for the Prep School Prize Giving. This special event marked the end of another successful academic year and offered a chance to reflect on the many highlights and achievements of the past months. The service included a review [...]
This week, Pre-Prep held their end-of-year celebration in the Cathedral. Pupils shared highlights and memorable moments from the year and delighted their proud parents by performing a variety of songs. Prizes were awarded in recognition of pupils' achievements, and heartfelt thanks were given to staff. A particularly special moment was the presentation of a [...]