Holocaust survivor and educator join Watford pupils in unveiling new memorial

Steven Frank and former headmistress at Watford Grammar, Dame Helen Hyde, dedicate new sculpture to Shoah victims

Holocaust survivor Steven Frank and renowned Holocaust educator Dame Helen Hyde joined Year 10 pupils from Watford Grammar School for Girls on Wednesday as they unveiled a new Holocaust memorial sculpture at the school.

Hyde, a former headmistress at the school, told the girls not to be bystanders, saying: “Your decisions, your words and your actions all make a difference.”

Frank was invited to complete the sculpture called ‘Enoshutt’ (Humanity) which sits at the centre of the school, seen by 1,400 students every day. Made by girls in Key Stage 3, it comprises 600 clay figures representing the six million Jews killed.

While the figures look identical, each is unique, hand-made and crafted to represent the individual lives that were lost.

Headmistress Sylvia Tai commented on the “emotional service” given by Frank, who learned how the Watford girls study the Holocaust and the origins of genocide as part of the curriculum across Years 9 and 10. In the last year girls have taken part in Holocaust education trips to Amsterdam, Poland and Germany.