From Yellow Star to Pop Star: a Holocaust Survivors Account
Tuesday 9th February 2021 (Periods 3 and 4)
We are delighted to welcome our Noadswood friend, Dorit Oliver-Wolff to our school tomorrow. Dorit will talk about how as a young girl she survived the Holocaust and became a singing sensation. Dorit was just four years old when she sang and danced in front of the future king of Yugoslavia. By six years old she was in hiding from the German soldiers who were rounding up and transporting her fellow Jews to concentration camps around Europe. Years of terror follow, with narrow escapes from capture and bombing raids plus betrayals by those she thought were her friends until, at last, she and her mother are rescued from the basement flat in which they are hiding. Singing helps her survive those dark days. But the Holocaust is only part of Dorit’s amazing story. After the war, stateless and without papers, she joins a touring dance troupe in order to be permitted to travel. She studies by day and sings and dances in seedy clubs by night until a talent scout spots her… and then her story really begins.
Tense, moving and inspirational, Dorit’s remarkable story moves you through fear and horror, to freedom and joy and shows how the bravery and fortitude of one little Jewish girl helped her survive the Holocaust and become a star. Dorit’s visit will support students' learning about this tragic subject. Dorit will speak about her experience of this event and answer student questions. The talk is designed to give students a greater understanding of the individual stories of those involved in the Holocaust. Survivor testimony forms a key component of effective Holocaust education by putting a human face and emotional colour to history.
Dorit is passionate about educating and reminding future generations of the importance of guarding against anti-Semitism or any form of racism. She believes that everybody has the same rights for life and living regardless of their gender, colour, creed or religion.