fiona mcneill
31 January, 2025
News

Bromley librarian shares poignant family history for Holocaust Memorial Day

This week, the Children’s Team in Bromley’s library service has been delivering inspiring workshops for local schoolchildren to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. This is especially significant as 2025 is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Edgardo Zaghini, Jackie, Caroline Nolan and Jenny Hawke ran workshops for Holocaust Memorial Day

Year 5 and 6 children from Bromley schools were invited to attend sessions at Orpington and Bromley Central libraries where they were given a general introduction to the topic with a background of historical facts.

Bringing the past to life, Jackie, a retired Bromley librarian, told the children about her family’s experience of the Holocaust which was heart-breaking to hear. Her Jewish father had left his native Poland with his mother at the age of 11, just before the start of the war. Although it was reassuring to hear that they had found sanctuary in the UK, it was also tragic to learn that Jackie’s grandfather and uncle had perished.