Brentford Academy complete Football Remembers the Holocaust education programme | OneFootball

Brentford Academy’s Under-14s recently completed the Premier League’s Football Remembers the Holocaust Education programme.

The Premier League has delivered the initiative since the 2018/19 season, with the young Bees taking part for the first time since the re-instalment of the academy.

The programme consists of five key parts; pre-war life in Europe, Holocaust Memorial Day, Holocaust survivor testimonies, visits to Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and a programme reflection.

Brentford Academy education tutor Jack Armstrong began with an education session on pre-war life in Europe, with the players then observing a minute’s silence ahead of their next game while wearing a commemorative badge on their shirts.

The third session saw Steven Frank, a Holocaust survivor, make a presentation to the squad at Jersey Road.

“It was incredibly moving, it left a lasting impression on us. He was really incredible in how positive he was and it was really interesting to hear his story and his outlook on what happened during that time,” explained Armstrong.

Dylan Evans and Hatim Belhaj then travelled to Poland alongside player support officer Mia Walters and were taken on a tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau, organised through the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Premier League.

“The last session was a reflective session with the boys who went on the trip and they reflected on what they learned and what stood out for them,” said Armstrong.

“You don’t fully understand it until you’re there, you don’t fully gauge what’s happened until you’re there. You see the room with the pile of shoes, thousands of shoes and clothes and the massive list of all the names of the people that passed during that time.

“For the boys that went, you could tell that they were more educated, it built their awareness of the social issues that are currently going on in life and what happened in those historical events.

“I think it was a really impactful and powerful trip that they went on.”