Plaque unveiled to honour the memory and achievements of Dr Kurt Hahn

The event was held as part of the local commemorations in the North of Scotland marking Holocaust Memorial Day. This year is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex, as well as the 30th anniversary of the Bosnian genocide.

St Christopher’s, the school chapel, hosted the service which movingly included a reading by Gordonstoun Guardians, a local story remembering Bosnia and an address by Simon Cane-Hardy, Head of Gordonstoun. In remembrance of the Holocaust, six candles were lit by Gordonstoun students, the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR), Interfaith Scotland, the Lord Lieutenant of Moray and a former Gordonstoun staff member. The varied music running through the service added to the emotions with The Gordonstoun Chamber Choir taking part and the congregation joining in to sing an African-American spiritual, a psalm and Turn back O Man, a Kurt Hahn favourite.

Towards the end of the service a plaque by the AJR was unveiled to honour the memory and achievements of Kurt Hahn. A German Jew, Kurt Hahn was forced to flee Germany after publicly speaking out against the Nazi party as it rose to power in the 1930s. After escaping to the Moray area, the renowned educationalist set up Gordonstoun in 1934, with Prince Philip one of the school’s first students.

A presentation was shown explaining Kurt Hahn’s departure from Germany, the development of Gordonstoun as a school, some of the first staff and pupils and stories of those that survived the Holocaust. The presentation can be seen here https://publish.gordonstoun.org.uk/books/lumx/

The AJR is a charity supporting Holocaust refugees and survivors living in the UK. It has mounted several plaques around the country that pay tribute to the Jewish émigrés who made an everlasting contribution to their adopted homeland, and to those sites of memory where the history of the refugees can live on.

Having been a student at Gordonstoun, AJR member Michael Flesch, second generation, unveiled the plaque to Kurt Hahn. Poinently, Michael’s father was at Salem School in Southern Germany, where Hahn was Headmaster before fleeing to Scotland.

To mark the event The Princess Royal - ‘Warden’ at Gordonstoun - expressed her thanks to the AJR and the school, for honouring Hahn. In a letter read out at the service. Princess Anne also wrote of her “great pride” that her grandmother, Princess Alice, is recognised as a Righteous Among the Nations for providing sanctuary to a Jewish family facing Nazi oppression and persecution in Greece.

First Minister John Swinney also sent a message of gratitude for highlighting Hahn’s story. “The atrocities inflicted upon the Jewish people during the Holocaust remain one of darkest periods of human history, but it is the bravery of individuals such as Mr Hahn that can inspire the rest of us to stand in solidarity against forces which seek (to) target the most vulnerable members of our society.”

Peter Green, Gordonstoun Principal, met with many of those gathered for the service and dedication and commented that “Our founder Kurt Hahn showed immense courage in publicly standing up to the Nazi party in the face of extreme adversity. Without his selfless determination, Gordonstoun would not exist today. We owe Hahn an eternal debt of gratitude for his vision in setting up a school with an educational philosophy focused on service and compassion. Hahn was ahead of his time in his thinking and today his memory lives on through the achievements of our wonderful students with their passion and instinct to help others, whether it’s in the local community or further afield. Today’s plaque unveiling will serve as an everlasting tribute to Hahn and his impact on education around the globe. This was a fitting initiative by The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) which Gordonstoun is proud to support.”

Frank Harding MBE, who devised the AJR plaque scheme, is an AJR Trustee and added that “it is our great pleasure to unveil our latest commemorative plaque, this time to honour the pioneering and visionary educationalist Kurt Hahn. The AJR is deeply honoured that this initiative has attracted the support of Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and the First Minister of Scotland. Having been briefly imprisoned as both a Jew and a notable and prominent outspoken critic of the Nazi regime, Kurt Hahn fled to Britain in 1933. He brought with him the ethos and values he inculcated at Salem in Germany and which have enabled Gordonstoun to burnish its international reputation as a leading and inspiring institution of learning. The plaque recognises Hahn's remarkable contribution to British society and forms part of the AJR’s mission to bring awareness of how Nazi oppression and the Holocaust impacted the lives of people who rebuilt their lives in this country. Our plaque scheme complements the other resources we have assembled, including our testimony archives, that help bring the past into the present and perpetuate the memory of the Jewish refugees.”

The special service, recognising both the achievements of Hahn and the marking of World Holocaust Memorial Day, was supported by members of Interfaith Scotland. Maureen Sier, Director of Interfaith Scotland, said that "it is always a great honour for Interfaith Scotland to support Holocaust Memorial Day and to remember the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. The theme this year for Holocaust Memorial Day is 'for a better future' and so it is significant to be attending a commemoration at Gordonstoun School, a school founded by Kurt Hahn, a survivor of the Nazi regime who dedicated his life to supporting young people to build a better future for everyone.”

The plaque for Kurt was to be unveiled by Holocaust survivor, Kathy Hagler, who sadly passed away last year, and so as we remember Kathy we also remember all those who suffered in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides."