AN emotional and thought provoking 10-day school trip saw 52 History students travel across Europe to visit locations including Auschwitz and Berlin.
The Second World War was vividly brought to life for the Year 11 students from Haslingden High School who were accompanied by six teachers.
Their first stop was Nuremburg in Germany where they sat in the court room where hundreds of Nazi war criminals were tried.
They went to Prague and to a ghetto in the Czech Republic.
“The ghetto was a holding place for the Jews before they were sent off to concentration camps,” said Charlotte Walmsley, 15.
“You could see how bad it must have been to live there; we saw a small room where 100 people had to live.”
When they got to Auschwitz in Poland they were all moved by what they saw and experienced.
They described an eerie silence and James Willetts, 15, said: “It was surreal and was like nothing I had ever experienced. I am glad I went and it has made me think.”
Annie Ryder, 15, said: “I don’t think people really understand about Auschwitz, unless they have been there. The rooms full of hair, suitcases, pots and pans and glasses; people needed h and they are just in a pile.
“When I went to a Remembrance service I thought also about the civilians who were affected also.”
While at Auschwitz the students and teachers held a Remembrance service and lit a candle.
“It makes you appreciate what you often take for granted,” said Holly Densfield, 15.
They also saw the Berlin Wall and appreciated how the capital city had once been divided.