Dear Sir/Madam,

Holocaust Presentations with Personal Family Experiences
Please note my presentations do not replace, rather compliment survivors’ testimonies
and present a contemporary view of anti-semitism and conflict of faith.
Please feel free to contact any of the schools mentioned for references, although
I can supply additional feedback if required.

I am an experienced Teacher, having worked in many different schools and
F.E. colleges over the past 25 years. I am an excellent public speaker and
particularly enjoy History and Humanities.
Whilst working at Aquinas College, Stockport, I gave a series of assemblies
on The Holocaust prior to National Holocaust Day during January 2008, in
which I outlined the history of the subject, including appropriate
photographs,prayers and music. The assemblies were received very well by
both staff and students and inspired further discussion and study in many
subject areas. I repeated these assemblies in January 2010 at Cheadle &
Marple College. It amazed me how little students and even some staff knew
about The Holocaust and the reason for the foundation of Israel. Many
students told me they felt privileged and even honoured to be part of such
an assembly and teachers asked me to provide further information for both
tutorial and other class sessions. The subject means a lot to me, as my
mother and grandparents fled Germany in 1934 to escape Nazi persecution and
my great-grandmother survived the concentration camps.
I would be very happy to come into the school during the coming months. I am
able to give single or several presentations on the subject. On the other
hand, I would be happy to come into the school anytime during the year to
talk about this subject, which I believe to have significance throughout the
year.
Several schools have already approached me to give presentations to
Years 7-13 students of History, RE, PSHE and English.
You may be interested to know that I addressed a full group of Year 9
students at Holmes Chapel Comp during 2012, after a Holocaust survivor
had given a presentation. The staff and students commented that it was good
to see two sides to the story, one from a living survivor of The Holocaust
and another from the son of refugees. I was able to follow up my
presentation with workshop sessions in the afternoon.
I talk about my family history and about my own experience of anti-semitism
at school and whilst working in a professional capacity and how I dealt with
the problem. Many people have appreciated the very personal input.
Therefore, I do believe my talks are of great value and benefit to young
people.
I have also prepared alternative assemblies/sessions for Year 7 and 8
pupils.
My presentations involve the following topics:
1. My own personal family history with regard to The Holocaust.
2. My own personal experience of anti-semitism at school and in the
workplace.
3. How did The Holocaust happen and which other minorities were victimized?
4. Readings of eye-witness testimony, children’s poems written in Terezin.
5. Photographic evidence of The Holocaust.
6. How good can come out of evil(with reference to Oskar Schindler and
Schindler’s List). Extracts from the movie. [The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
for Years 7-8]
7. The Holocaust’s relevance in today’s society. Other acts of genocide
following The Holocaust.
8. Respect and tolerance for all.
I am able to give presentations lasting from 40 to 60 minutes. At Holmes
Chapel Comp, I gave a talk to the whole of Year 9 in the morning and
followed this up with workshop sessions of approximately 40 minutes each,
which looks at a particular scene from Schindler’s List in more detail, with
a Comprehension worksheet to help pupils explain what is happening on screen
and why. If time allows, I also play and discuss a short musical work
influenced by The Holocaust, setting text written by a genuine survivor. For
Year 7 & 8 students, I talk about The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and play
the final scene and ask for pupils’ responses.
In a few years, there may be very few survivors of The Holocaust left to
recount their experiences and I believe it is up to second and third
generation family members to carry on this tradition.
I am a very experienced public speaker, able to
talk to small or large groups of children and adults.
I believe this is something to which I can definitely contribute in
enriching young people’s lives and I look forward to hearing from you in due
course.
Yours sincerely,
Freddy Naftel
PS. I have given assemblies to Years 7,8 and 10 at Stockport School as well
as taking 4 GCSE sessions at Stockport Grammar School. I have received much
interest from other schools and F.E. colleges within Greater Manchester,
Lancashire and Cheshire.
I have already given half day and full day presentations at All Hallows
R.C.High Macclesfield, Holmes Chapel Comp, Sale High and
Alderley Edge School.
I gave a presentation to Adult students at The Northern College in Barnsley,
which attracted a lot of interest and also spoke to 5 A Level History
classes at Runshaw College.
I also spoke to a class of Year 10 GCSE History students at St.Thomas More
R.C.High School in Buxton, visited Aquinas College, Stockport and
Shuttleworth College, Burnley and have spoken
to students at Rossall School, Fleetwood, Sir John Deane’s College,
Northwich and St Christopher’s C of E School in Accrington. I recently gave
an evening talk to students at Ackworth School, Pontefract and Leicester Grammar School.
On Thursday 22nd November, I gave a lecture to Year 10-13 students at Edgbaston
School for Girls.
This year, I have already addressed Year 10/11 students at Essa Academy, Bolton,
similar students at Bolton Girls’ School, Cambridge International School, Congleton High School
and have recently given very successful presentations at Sedbergh School, Casterton School,
Bradford Academy and Christopher Whitehead Language College in Worcester.
Other presentations were given at Driffield School, Holy Trinity International School in
Kidderminster, where I addressed children in Years 5 and 6, Blessed Edward Olcorne in Worcester and
Shavington High School near Crewe.
I visited Leyland St Mary’s Catholic Tech College on 14th March, delivering extended presentations
to GCSE students in Years 10 and 11.
I have submitted some feedback received from Colston Girls’ School, which I visited
on October 1st 2012:
Colston Girls’ School, Bristol
Sixth Form Holocaust Speaker Freddy Naftel 1 October 2012
Student Feedback
Very interesting to be able to view the Holocaust from a more personal point of view. – Daisy
Really informative, especially from someone who had family involved. – Hannah
Brought the Holocaust into perspective. Scary to hear to what extent anti-Semitism still exists – Georgia
Like Georgia, I did not realise that anti-semitism still exists. I was under the impression that people had ‘learnt their lesson’, as such, from the Holocaust. The presentation was personal, yet informative – Emily
I found the talk interesting, especially from a more personal point of view – Sarah
The talk helped me realize more about anti – Semitism and the presentation was very interesting. The only problem would be that there wasn’t enough time – Amun
Here is a link to Casterton School, following my visit there on 5th February:
http://www.castertonschool.co.uk/news-article.cfm?id=120

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