Surrey History Centre to honour Holocaust victims

A month-long exhibition is being held at Surrey History Centre to honour the victims of a Nazi extermination programme responsible for killing 70,000 people during the Holocaust.

The Woking centre has arranged the exhibition to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January.

Finding Ivy: A Life Worthy of Life tells the story of 13 British-born victims of the Aktion T4 programme which specifically targeted adults with physical and mental disabilities between January 1940 and August 1941.

Staff at the centre were able to contribute directly to the research after discovering that one victim, Anna Elsie Panitza, had lived in Surrey.

Ms Panitza had been admitted to Surrey County Council's mental health hospitals at Brookwood and Netherne.

Medical case notes now preserved at the centre have filled important gaps in her story which forms a key part of the exhibition which will run until 30 January.

Alongside the month-long exhibition there will be a live online event on 29 January featuring presentations by curators Dr Helen Atherton and Dr Simon Jarrett, from the University of Leeds and the Open University respectively.

Dr Atherton began the Finding Ivy project 14 years ago and has been working on it ever since.

Denise Turner-Stewart, deputy leader and cabinet member for communities at Surrey County Council, said: "Yet again Surrey History Centre has played a key role in helping piece together an important story - in this case the life of a disabled Surrey resident who features in this significant research.

"We are privileged to have this facility, and I encourage everyone to visit. There is a full programme of fascinating events for all ages to experience."

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