Students
American School in London
“I found that that the impact of the experience was breathtaking….the visuals and the description throughout the story made it very clear to picture what was going on”
“The entire presentation was fascinating! Hephzibah’s speech was well written, interesting, and engaging…. We certainly don’t find info like that on google!”
“The use of the artefacts really helped me create mental pictures to help put the story together”
“I really enjoyed how honest and raw the story was”
Aish Hampstead
“An inspirational story and so rare to hear of a whole family that survived after going through what they did. It is wonderful for Zahava’s children to be involved in the storytelling process so that the story can be told accurately for generations to come.”
Barnhill Community High
“Amazing. An insight into the realities of the Holocaust.”
Beal High School
“A very moving account. Puts life into a perspective that students find difficult to attain. The human contact here today has done more than many hours in the classroom”
Birmingham City University
“ It was both informative and emotive and helped me grasp a better picture of what life was actually like”.
“ I found the experience a real privilege, engaging and inspiring; Hephzibah you pitched it at the right level and used a good language tone expressing just enough emotion and reverence to the subject”.
“I admire your mother, and other survivors, for sharing stories and never actually sugar-coating how their experiences really were”.
Bishop Douglass School
“ The best presentation we have ever had at Bishop Douglass”
“Before the talk, this subject was academic - facts and statistics learnt from textbooks, but having a daughter of a Holocaust survivor talk about it was a new experience - it was an eye opener”
Channing School
“I couldn’t get over the instances when a life can be changed by the fortune, good or bad, of a single moment. The impression of seeing the bowls from Bergen Belsen will stay with me.”
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to hear this story first hand – no retelling by others will ever have the same effect.”
Fettes College, Edinburgh
“It is always harrowing to hear a story full of such grief, but the sincerity of Lady Kohn’s words added another dimension to her words.”
“Lady Kohn’s recollection of a harrowing time brought a more human side to the numbers, statistics and figures which to pupils studying this dark topic are nothing more than black ink on white paper.”
“The secure morals embedded in this account are sure to be cemented in the minds of all who attended. It should be those same people’s responsibility to pass on this message so that all who perished did not do so in vain”
Forest Academy
“You read about this in history text books, internet resources, books, but to hear a story of a personal account from their own recollection is an amazing opportunity. This feels like it is a part of a moment in history.”
Henrietta Barnett School
“Your story was truly moving and we are extremely grateful for hearing your story first hand.”
Kingsbury High School
“A deep insight into her life and how it was in the concentration camp.”
King Soloman High School
“I was inspired and moved by this story and feel as though I should think and reflect and be grateful for what I have.”
"Zahava's story was both heart-wrenching and heart-warming. She showed what it means to turn loss into hope, forgiveness, and gratitude; a lesson for all humanity to learn from. Together, she and Hephzibah explored and brought to life the experiences of a family bound by love and determination, during a time of hatred and persecution. Hephzibah described their journey, as one of 'perseverance, recovery, and renewal'. After listening about their inspiring lives, I could not agree more."
Latymer School
“It was an emotional but hopeful story about courage, determination and love ,and again we thank you for sharing it with us”
St Paul’s School for Boys
“Eye-opening”
“Particularly impressed by amount of first-hand sources – such an asset to see them”.
“Brought the bureaucratic nature of the Holocaust alive through the sources – the obsessive administration of terror”.
Woodford County High School
“I found myself engrossed in your family's story. Your presentation allowed me to learn more about the Holocaust than any textbook ever could, because by telling an individuals story, you are able to really understand the horrific conditions Jewish people faced due to the Nazis.”
Teachers
Anglo European School
“Excellent in every respect. A very personal immersing experience, a chance to ask questions, connect with the Holocaust, make it individual, alive and therefore understand.”
Beal High School
“Thank you so much for sharing your story; it was truly fascinating and our students really appreciated it and learned a lot.”
Bentley Wood High School
“I just thought the whole experience was phenomenal. This would be a format I would highly recommend that other survivors who speak in school should take.”
Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre, Nottingham
“As the teachers left the Centre, they thanked me for the day and one said, ‘I think the talk had a tremendous impact on the students. I have never seen them so quiet and attentive. I am sure it will be something they will never forget.”
Canons High School
“Your talk was a real highlight and received brilliantly by the students and staff who were both equally inspired by your amazing story. It was so beautifully delivered with seamless transition between the two of you and really appreciate the efforts you have gone to share and include primary sources of evidence to really bring the history alive.
I found your key messages at the end particularly valuable and significant.”
Channing School
“It was a real privilege for everyone to hear such a life-affirming and inspiring story. The collection of documents, together with the wonderfully well thought out way you tell the story between the two of you was marvellous.”
East Barnet School
Thank you for delivering such an inspiring and thought provoking presentation. We were very fortunate to have had such a unique opportunity and to hear such a compelling story of resilience and determination to survive.
We really believe that this was a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience for our students and we are very grateful that you were able to share your experiences with them and with us.
Forest Academy
“Thank you so much for sharing your unique story. I know our students found it inspiring.”
Henrietta Barnett School
“I just want to thank you both so much for the wonderful experience that my students have had the privilege of receiving. It has been truly wonderful to hear Zahava’s amazing story and to meet such an inspirational person.”
Highgate Wood School
“Your powerful narrative allowed all of us to address not only the specifics of the Holocaust’s cruelty but also the capacity of the human spirit to cling to life. It was deeply moving at so many levels. Truly, Zahava’s testimonials brought the experience to life in an utterly shattering way. That your message touched the young audience was immediately apparent to me, not only from their questions but also from their rapt attention. How fortunate they were to have witnessed it.”
Holocaust Memorial Day Event
“We bear witness when we come together and create opportunities to tell and listen. I will never forget Zahava’s calm demeanour and the normalisation of the extraordinary.”
“Thank you both for such an uplifting, extraordinary and inspiring lecture – full of hope, forgiveness and looking ahead – living life without regrets – phenomenal message for all future generations.”
“We felt privileged to hear your mother’s experience, told so beautifully by you. What’s so wonderful to see is how your family have turned such a terrible experience into something so positive, inspirational and educational.”
Immanuel College
“Your account of your mother’s and grandparents’ lives in the period from the German invasion of Holland until the end of the Second World War was remarkable for the power of the documentation which accompanied it”
Kingsbury High School
“They were all so appreciative of your visit – exclaiming how invaluable it was and how much they had learnt.”
King Solomon High School
“Once again my most grateful thanks for inspiring us today. The impact of your visit is evident, when the words on the feedback sheet include ‘uplifting’ and ’humbling’, as well as ‘shocking’ and’ chilling’. For me, you and your stories encapsulate the essence of Jewish sprit, hope and continuity. Today you brought that message to more than 150 young people from different faiths and backgrounds, all of whom hopefully took away important lessons for life. For this we are so very grateful.”
“Once again, I do not have words to express my gratitude to you both for enlightening and inspiring us today with your words and your example! The feedback was incredible, and students took so much away from the session today.”
“I felt that the story, although I have heard it many times, had a new resonance and poignancy that I had not observed in previous years. You are such an inspiration to us all.”
“It's always such a joy to see you both and I feel extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to do so again. You are such beautiful, inspiring human beings and, quite honestly, are wonderful role models for us all. This unique event happens only once a year, but it's an experience that stays with everyone for the rest of their lives - much like it does with me.”
National Archives, Kew
We were all so very moved …. as we could sense the rest of the audience was, and no doubt, everyone you ever present to …. how could one not be moved? What an amazing achievement that you have lived to tell the tale.
North London Collegiate
“Thank you once again for taking the time to visit us at NLCS. I know that the girls found the session both informative and inspirational. I was particularly moved by the resounding message of hope in a tale of human strength and love in the most dire of circumstances. It was also fantastic for the girls to see how resilient and powerful people can be with the support of a close family and friendship group- a great pastoral message as well as a lesson from history.”
Redbridge Interschool Holocaust Seminar
Thank you does not seem adequate to express my feelings about the contribution you make to our annual holocaust event. It is awe inspiring to watch a hall full of young people completely glued to your faces as you share your unique story. The students who attended represent our society in its full diversity and all took home a powerful and vital message from the event, that of the need to learn about and from our history in order not to repeat the mistakes made by others.
The Royal School
“Thank you so much for coming in yesterday to speak to the girls. It was really moving and perfectly pitched for the audience. Many of the girls at the end of the day came and said to me how much they had learnt and were genuinely interested.”
Queen’s College, London
“This was such an invaluable addition to our teaching and so worthwhile for the girls. We would certainly be interested in a repeat visit.”
St Paul’s School for Boys
“The feedback has been ever so positive from teachers and students.
I thought your way of encouraging questions was excellent. I thought it was particularly inspiring to hear Lady Zahava speaking about how her family dealt with the aftermath of their experience during war and how they courageously decided not to speak about it on front of the children as they didn’t want them to have that baggage. My sense is that this could be instructive and inspiring. In our culture today which is indulgent about its miseries, we sometimes fail to show ourselves/ our young people the human spirit can rise above the ‘damage’ that people try and inflict upon it. Lady Zahava’s parents obviously managed to do something very special and not let anything tear them apart. That came across so well, seeing your mother and getting a sense of what a profound bond that existed between family members. I think today’s adolescents need to hear that.
Let me add renewed thanks to you both for what truly was – I do not use the word lightly – an inspirational afternoon.”
University College School, London
“Everyone, and I mean everyone I have spoken to thought that it was fabulous and a couple of boys specifically sought me out this morning to thank us for laying the opportunity on, which is praise indeed. We wouldn’t change a thing. It was a very special and intimate hour and a privilege to be there.”
Watford Grammar School for Girls
“The interaction between mother and daughter in telling this story not only brought the story alive but also brought home the precious value of telling the story from one generation to the next.”
Westminster
“Thanks so much to you and Zahava for an inspiring talk yesterday. You gave them insights into the Holocaust which are impossible to achieve in classroom teaching; as one of the pupils mentioned to me this morning, putting things on a human scale makes events so much sharper and more horrific. Yet what stayed with them most clearly was the sense of constructive optimism in the face of brutality. They found the documents fascinating
The structure and pace of the talk was really impressive. Your overview gave important context, and your mother’s interjections and insights made the session gripping and varied. ‘Talking around’ the documents is such a good idea. The humane and balanced way in which you both answered questions really struck us, and we were grateful that there was time to explore themes without any rush.”
“On the level of their historical studies, this session was insightful and important – but morally and culturally it could not have been more valuable. Quite genuinely it was an experience none of the pupils will forget: they spent a good portion of this morning’s lesson telling me so.”