Holocaust education project expands to UK
Australian Holocaust education program sharing a Kindertransport refugee’s story will reach British schools.
An Australian Holocaust education program based on a Kindertransport refugee’s story will be delivered in more than 20 British schools under a partnership between the WE ARE HERE! Foundation and PaJeS (Partnerships for Jewish Schools).
The agreement allows PaJeS-affiliated educators to run the In My Pocket Project for children aged nine to 11 across the UK.
Perth-based educators Eli and Jill Rabinowitz, co-founders of the WE ARE HERE! Foundation, developed the program. It has reached 10,000 primary school students since 2023, with delivery in Australia, South Africa, Lithuania, Latvia and Mexico.
The program is based on In My Pocket, the autobiographical picture book by Dorrith M. Sim, illustrated by Gerald Fitzgerald.
Born in Kassel, Germany, Sim travelled to Britain on the Kindertransport aged seven in July 1939. She was taken in by a foster family in Edinburgh but never saw her parents again.
The program combines storytelling, guided discussion, historical photographs and art, with students painting calico pockets as a reflection on Sim’s experiences.
“Dorrith found refuge in Britain, and her story will now help a new generation of children there explore kindness, empathy and belonging,” Eli Rabinowitz said.
PaJeS director of education Sharon Radley said, “We are delighted that more than 20 schools have already signed up to take part in the In My Pocket Project.”