Page 87 - Wish Stream Year of 2017

In 2005, the United Nations General Assem- bly adopted resolution 60/7, designating the 27th January as an annual International Day of
Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. With this in mind, I thought it would be particularly valuable for Officer Cadets to mark this day and to hear the stories of survivors of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides, such as those in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur.
The central element of any event to mark the Holocaust and subsequent genocides is a tes- timony – a chance to hear first-hand a personal account of the atrocities. Through working with the UK’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre, located in North London, we were fortunate to be able to welcome 10 Holocaust survivors and two survi- vors of the Bosnian genocide. In particular, the Senior Term, Lucknow platoon as well as some staff members were fortunate to hear from Mr Zigi Shipper BEM, who between the ages of 10 and 14 was forced to live in the Łódz´ Ghetto before being put on a cattle-truck to Auschwitz where he survived the Nazis’ selection. From there, he was transported to Stutthof concentra- tion camp before being sent on a ‘death march’ to Neustadt, where after arriving, he was liber- ated by the British Army. The event also featured
OCdt Trup
a video testimony from Kemal Pervanic´, a survi- vor of the Bosnian genocide.
The curriculum for Officer Cadets includes the crucial element of Communication and Behav- ioural Science (CABS), in which we learn about examples of military leadership failing to prevent atrocities in historical and some more recent examples. Through early discussions with Capt Farren, OC Lucknow and Lt Col Whitelegge, Old College Commander, it became clear that there were valuable leadership lessons to be learnt in the context of genocide prevention from a military perspective. To this end, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s education officer Alex Mur- phy presented the ’10 stages of Genocide’ – providing clear examples of how normal people can come to commit horrific acts against other people.
The event ended with a ceremony led by Father McCourt, featuring poems from the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides and various prayers and readings. The event ended with Officer Cadets and Holocaust and Bosnian survivors lighting candles together in a sign of our com- mitment to remember those who died in these past atrocities by working to ensure such terrible events never happen again.
Holocaust Memorial Day
Exercise ALLENBY’S ADVANCE
EX ALLENBY’S ADVANCE saw the Interme- diate Term deploy on a week-long offensive exercise to Sennybridge, Wales. For many
cadets, this was their first time conducting com- plex operations such as raids and ambushes.
Despite being hard work it was a highlight of the Commissioning Course to the platoon.
EX ALLENBY’S ADVANCE is the final offensive exercise of both Junior and Intermediate Term.
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