The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) welcomed Icek Alterman as part of the annual commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day.
Icek – known as Ike – shared some harrowing experiences with Year 9 pupils and even showed the tattoo which was branded onto his arm at Auschwitz.
Ike was only 13-years-old when he watched his mother, sister, and younger brother being marched away at gunpoint.
This was the age of many MGS pupils who listened to his talk and who were able to participate in a Q&A session with Ike in relation to his time spent in four concentration camps. Ike has only recently been able to start talking about the atrocities which he witnessed during the Second World War but is determined to ensure that his story helps to prevent any such future barbarity.
Ike was only of only 700 Jewish children who were sent from Auschwitz to Great Britain after the camps were liberated. He became one of the “Windermere Children” who were taken to a place in the Lake District, which allowed them to integrate into life in England.
Ike married, had two daughters and eventually was able to set himself up as a jeweller in Manchester. He continued to work until his late 70s and remains an inspiring example of a Holocaust survivor who continues to embrace life, despite his terrifying childhood.
Ike was joined by Radio 5 presenter, Nihal Arthanayake, host of Radio 5 Live’s Afternoon Arthanayake and presenter of the hugely successful Penguin Podcast to host the Q&A.
Nihal won Interview of the Year at the 2019 BBC Radio and Music Awards.