This project was designed to enable students to learn about the life and legacy of Leon Greenman, a Holocaust survivor who settled just a couple of miles away from Oak Parks High School upon his liberation from Buchenwald camp. Students began by visiting Leon Greenman’s memorial plaque and home, and then researching documentation and Greenman’s teachings in local libraries.

Students learned about Leon Greenman’s life and experience of the Holocaust, from his arrest in the Netherlands to detention in a concentration camp, where his wife and son were sent to the gas chambers. They learned about how he dedicated the rest of his life to sharing his story with young people across London, and how he taught them to promote equality, challenge prejudice and stand up to racism.

The students wanted to show the connection between their town of Ilford and the Holocaust, so they made a film about the life and legacy of Leon Greenman. The film documents the students learning journey and experiences exploring the life of Leon Greenman. It also details the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands and how Leon Greenman was forced into slave labour, and the suffering he experienced.

As they finished making the film, the students decided to ‘proudly declare ourselves Greenman Ambassadors,’ and, keen to share Leon’s life and legacy with others, went on to teach lessons to other pupils in school. The resources created were also used to adapt the school’s existing Holocaust teaching unit.