Several years after the end of WW2, I went to a girls' grammar school, in which about 20 to 25 percent of the pupils were Jewish. In the third year we had to select from options for O levels. For a second language, you could choose between German and Latin. I have vivid memories of many of the Jewish girls being refused permission by their parents to study German, because of its association with the Holocaust and WW2, so many of them did Latin instead. I never thought anything of it, it was their decision and I have always respected it. They had separate assembly and religious studies, but shared our history classes. We were never taught anything about the Holocaust or any aspect of WW2, nor did we ever discuss any of the details amongst ourselves. What I know about it, I read years later, but today it seems that a lot of schools do include it in the curriculum. It does not bear thinking about what the people suffered at the time, and it would be fresh in the memories of my school friends' families, as their parents and grandparents would have been directly or indirectly affected. Therefore I can fully appreciate how they felt at the time, and how they may still feel. It seems as if today's schoolchildren are learning more about these subjects, how times change.
