Holocaust prize founder warns of rising hatred

The founder of an anti-discrimination programme for schools says he fears hatred and prejudice are on the rise.

Prof Rainer Schulze runs the Dora Love Prize, named after a Jewish Holocaust survivor who worked to promote tolerance and understanding.

The 2025 prize has seven schools from Suffolk taking part, along with seven in Essex, one in Kent, five in Dorset and one in Canada.

Prof Schulze said: "Seeing those young people today gave me the confidence that maybe not all is lost, that they are equally passionate about preserving freedoms for everyone."

A launch event was held at the University of Suffolk in Ipswich following Monday's Holocaust Remembrance Day, and similar events have taken place in Colchester and Chelmsford.

The Dora Love Prize is awarded to students who develop projects which "link what they have learnt about the Holocaust with the world they live in today".

About 100 youngsters from Suffolk took part with workshops, presentations and a panel discussion covering the Holocaust, other genocides and current political challenges in Britain and elsewhere.

Prof Schulze, who has been running the prize for 13 years, said he was genuinely worried about events in the US.

"The vilification and demonisation of certain groups - I'm afraid it will actually come to Europe as well and probably come to Britain first, " he said.

Following the launch events, students develop their own creative projects based on the title "Time to stand up against a renewed wave of hate and exclusion".

They then present their work at a showcase event in June.

Amber, Isla and Dayah are 14-year-olds from Debenham High School who took part in a workshop looking at Holocaust perpetrators which was called Ordinary People - Extraordinary Crimes.

Amber said: "It was normalised, that people can commit genocide without being questioned.

Isla added: "People in the photographs aren't hiding their faces; it wasn't something they were ashamed of - they were proud of it.

Dayah said : "I think it's very important to learn about the mistakes that we made in the past.

"Looking back in history, for example at these photos, we should learn from what happened back then and we should not be afraid to talk about it."

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