Generation2Generation: Why I am Telling My Mother’s Story

Diana Cook describes her work with Generation2Generation in keeping alive memories of the past while forging a future together

‘In 1942 deported from Neustädtel to the east’. ‘The east’ means the death camps in Poland.

This is the brutal file note I found in a German archive with my grandmother Else’s name on it. The same record exists for her two youngest sons, Günther and Siegfried Hubert.

Their murders took place somewhere in eastern Europe, sometime in 1942, but I know nothing of what led up to it, nor where or how her life was erased. She has no grave. I have no place to go to honour her memory, because her life didn’t matter to those who destroyed it.

Her eldest child - my mother Margot – avoided my grandmother’s fate by escaping the horrors of Nazi Germany a few weeks before war broke out. It wasn’t until she died in 2014 that I at last felt I could make use of her story. When I heard about Generation2Generation (G2G) – a charity which provides the means for second and third generation descendants of Holocaust survivors to present their family histories – I knew at once that by telling my family’s Holocaust story to younger generations I could truly honour my grandmother’s memory.

It was May 2022 when I started putting together my presentation. I trawled through boxes and boxes of long forgotten family photos, as well as stock images from the 1930s, such as adoring crowds cheering Hitler and a synagogue being burned to the ground, to illustrate my talk. G2G speakers all use survivor testimony; this could be letters, diaries, photos, or audio or video recordings which bring our stories, and the family members we talk about, to life.

Presenting to a group of schools hosted by Belfast Royal Academy, January 2024.  Around 200 pupils aged 13-16 attended the event

Talking about the Holocaust is hugely rewarding and can be emotional. My biggest surprise was at a prison, where some inmates, members of a history group, were deeply affected by my story. After the tears, some of them read from texts they had written or been studying, such as Anne Frank’s diary and Primo Levi. It was a very moving experience which transformed my preconceptions about ‘hardened’ criminals.

It's also rewarding to face classes of giggling, fidgeting 15- or 16-year-old students whose lack of interest in the topic is evident when I start to talk. I know that what I’m doing is worthwhile when within a few minutes, have their full attention and I see their expressions change. They have realised this speaker is talking about real people - my family - who were persecuted by a tyrannical regime. By knowing about the past, young people in particular can challenge those who would prefer the world to forget and help to promote positive values of inclusivity and tolerance.

I talk about how my mother’s story resonates today, and the importance of acceptance and understanding, when people are still fleeing wars, starvation and persecution in search of a better life. After I spoke at a conference centre in Northern Ireland, a 15-year-old boy stood up and thanked me for what I had said. He explained he was a refugee from Sudan, where he had seen his father murdered. He found his way to Britain alone, escaping from prison in North Africa along the way, and had been welcomed into a stranger’s home and family. After 9 months in Enniskillen, he had just heard that his mother and sisters were still alive. This was a moment of jaw dropping silence in a room of over 300 people, and I too was lost for words.

When my mother died, and I became the guardian of her memories and scraps of information, I didn’t know that it would become my responsibility to preserve and retell my family story. But it did and I feel compelled to share my inheritance with as wide an audience as possible, so that does not drift into oblivion, like so many other stories of prejudice and scapegoating. I hope this helps to ensure that we never again experience the horrors of the Holocaust.

Diana Cook September 2024

If you are interested in keeping your family story alive by sharing the Holocaust experiences of a family member or close friend, Generation 2 Generation can help you develop a high quality, factually accurate presentation, coach you to deliver an excellent talk, and arrange opportunities for you to share your survivor story different audiences

Most of our bookings are in schools, but since January 2023 I have also been invited to speak in a prison, a cathedral, three theatres, two conference centres, a synagogue and a church. Presentations last around 35-40 minutes, so they fit into a school lesson period, and are usually aimed at Year 9 and older students. Teachers are given access to specially prepared resources to help them prepare their students.

 Speakers have bookings all year round, but for a couple of weeks around Holocaust Memorial Day in January all G2G speakers are extremely busy, sometimes delivering several talks in one day, in person or online using video conferencing.