Students undertook a variety of research activities, including synagogue visits and exploring the Ethnological Museum in Ioannina, helping them to understand Jewish culture and customs. They learned about the events of the BPP and the actions of the Nazis in the region through film and documentary research. Materials by Yad Vashem helped them to explore the Holocaust and stories from survivors who experienced the horrors of the camps.

Through the testimonies of survivors who returned to their hometown, students were able to better understand the principles of democracy and the importance of human rights. They were also able to explore their feelings around respect for diversity, tolerance and the preservation of human dignity, developing their ideas and attitudes towards racism and intolerance.

As a result of their cultural visits, the project team produced a PowerPoint presentation detailing a timeline of Jewish community history in Ioannina, from its origins to the return of ‘the few’ from Auschwitz. The students created a film to share that history, up until the removal of a large proportion of the Jewish community to concentration camps in 1944.

‘A Journey Through Time – The Jewish Community of Ioannina’ will be presented by the students to the whole school community on National Holocaust Day in January 2025, helping all students connect their Hometown with the Holocaust and the legacy and loss of the Jewish community of Ioannina.