A group of youngsters have retraced the steps of the Windermere Children.
In 1945, hundreds of youngsters liberated from concentration camps were flown into the Lake District to begin new lives and this month, a group of children, aged 11 to 13, travelled with parents and relatives from Liverpool and Manchester for an outdoor experience over three days during the Jewish festival of Tabernacles.
A total of 21 people took part in the trip, organised by Regenesis, a not-for-profit organisation founded by Marc Duschenes, of Altrincham, whose Czech Jewish grandfather escaped the Nazis as a young airman and settled in the UK as a refugee.
Marc, now a qualified outdoor instructor, has organised charity fundraising treks from the Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto in the Czech Republic to Prague, from where the 300 Windermere Children began their journey to the UK in 1945.
The Lake District event was the first of its kind for Regenesis, which aims to educate young people about the Holocaust by focusing on inspirational stories of hope, survival and resilience rather than its atrocities.
The group built a booth as part of their festival of Tabernacles celebrations, camped out, hiked 13 miles across Lake District hills, enjoyed activities including skimming stones on Windermere – just as the Holocaust survivors had done – and learned navigation and first aid skills, all under the guidance of experienced instructors.
They visited the site of the former Calgarth Estate, where the Windermere Children lived for several months after arriving in the UK in August 1945, and they laid stones at a sapling which has grown from an acorn found at Auschwitz.
During the festival of Tabernacles in 1945 the Windermere Children set up a small camp overlooking Calgarth.
The youngsters also visited the Lake District Holocaust Project and met director Trevor Avery.
The project, established in 2013, tells the story of the Windermere Children and the community which welcomed them, with an exhibition which attracts visitors from around the world.
Marc said: “Taking young people to the Lake District to see and experience where the Windermere Children were rehabilitated was for a very good reason – it was the perfect place for them to begin their Holocaust education in a gentle, non-traumatic way while also offering the chance to take part in outdoor pursuits, all designed to inform, stimulate and teach them new skills.
“Windermere is not a memorial. It’s the place where children came back to life, and is home to the renowned Lake District Holocaust Project.”
Trevor said: “The work of Regenesis is exactly in the spirit of the Lake District Holocaust Project. The visit was emotional and inspiring in equal measure.
“Guided by the survivors themselves, we have devoted ourselves for many years to using creative ways to educate.”
People joining treks organised by Regenesis undertake to raise money for charity and have so far raised more than £50,000 for good causes including The Fed, The Christie, Cancer Research UK, Brain Tumour Research, MS Society, The Friendship Circle, Marie Curie, Macmillan Cancer Support and St Ann’s Hospice.
Marc said: “We’re planning a whole series of events for 2025, including another endurance walk of 90km from Terezin to Prague, another Giant Walk from Hale on Merseyside to Hale in Cheshire, more hikes and camps for families in the Lake District, and bespoke treks for charities and corporate groups.”
