Mark, whose own father Reginald Francois fought in the Second World War against the Nazi’s, decided to volunteer for a programme which the HET have been running for well over a decade to try and show young people the horrors that were committed by the Nazi’s at death camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenhau. Part of the objective of this programme is to try and remind the new generation of the atrocities which were committed against the Jewish people, in the hope that we can prevent such a thing ever happening again.
The trip, which left Stanstead very early in the morning, saw participants then taken by coach from Krakow before being shown around the original camp at Auschwitz, a converted Polish Army Barracks (known as Auschwitz One) and then the much larger death camp with its notorious gas chambers (known as Auschwitz Two). Those on the trip were divided into groups and taken around by British teachers, accompanied by local Polish guides who helped to explain to the visitors exactly how the Nazi’s divided up victims sent to Auschwitz, between those used for slave labour, and those sent immediately for execution in the gas chambers.
Commenting on his visit to Auschwitz-Birkenhau, Mark Francois said:
“I was told when I volunteered for this trip that it would be an unforgettable experience and that is absolutely true. I think anyone who goes to Auscwitz-Birkenhau would be struck by the sheer horror of what took place there. I have always been proud of my father for fighting against the Nazi’s in the Second World War, but having been to Auschwitz, I am even more proud of him that before I left. I think it is important that young people, indeed all of us, are reminded of this appalling episode of man’s inhumanity to man in the hope that we can prevent this ever happening again.”