Tomi Reichental visits Bridgetown College
Tomi Reichental is a Holocaust survivor. Bridgetown College had the privelege to host Tomi in our school where he spoke to Senior History and Religious Education Students. Tomi was born in Czechoslovakia in 1935 to Jewish farmers and lived with his family on their farm until he was the age of eight. At this age laws started coming in that prohibited the movement and rights of Jewish people and that is when he and his family went into hiding. Unfortunately he, his mother, his brother and his grandmother were caught and taken to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1944 where they stayed until the camp was liberated by the British in 1945.
Tomi is known for his talks about his experience of The Holocaust as a child. He gives talks in secondary schools, colleges and at various other events across the country and his aim is to educate people about what happened during the Holocaust so that we can remember the people who died in it and so it never happens again: "After all the horror, I am doing my best to keep the memory of those lost ones alive. We - you, me, your children, my children - must never forget." He has received many awards for his work and tireless efforts to promote tolerance and to educate young people about the importance of remembrance and reconciliation and it has made him one of the most inspirational figures in modern Ireland.
This once in a life time opportunity to hear and speak with Tomi Reichental was coordinated by Ms Walsh and Ms FitzGerald on behalf of the History and Religious Education Departments.