Inspired by…Dr Mindu Hornick MBE

Many teachers will be able to empathise with me when I begin my ‘Inspired by….’ story with the panic of having arranged an outside speaker to present to the whole of Year 9 who pulled out a few days before!

Our proposed speaker was a Holocaust survivor who I had arranged through the Holocaust Education Trust. We had been very fortunate to host a survivor at my school for several years in a row, including Rudi Oppenheimer, Ruth Barnett and Joanna Millan. It was inevitable that one day the visitor would not be able to attend due to illness. But, I had 200 Year 9 pupils prepared for the talk and numerous colleagues who were looking forward to both listening at the back of the assembly hall and to not teaching Year 9 that day!

Five days before the scheduled date I began phoning all the contacts I had trying to find a replacement who would be able to travel to my school in the West Midlands. A very helpful member of staff at the Holocaust Education Trust gave me the number of Mrs Mindu Hornick. He knew she was a survivor of Auschwitz and she lived in Birmingham, but he did not know if she had spoken of her experiences before, especially to a school group.

Between lessons, I rang the number not knowing who would answer or what I would say.

Mindu answered, “Hello?”

I began, “Good morning, my name is Rebecca, and I teach RE in a local school. We were expecting a Holocaust survivor to come and speak to Year 9 next week, but he has pulled out due to ill health. I wonder if you might be able to come and talk to 200 enthusiastic and interested pupils about your experiences of Auschwitz?”

“I have not visited a school before and I am still trying to get my story into a coherent presentation”.

[So that isn’t a ‘no’. I thought] “My pupils aren’t bothered about a neat presentation, they would just love to meet you.”

“Would I be able to bring two friends from the Synagogue to accompany me?”

Whoop! And so began Mindu’s service to educating pupils about the Holocaust in many schools across the West Midlands, including 5 years visiting my own school.

Mindu Hornick is an incredible woman. She will cause a rowdy group of Year 9 pupils to be awe-struck and show deep respect. Her story of survival is astonishing and pupils fall into a revered silence listening to her voice.

In 2015 I moved into Higher Education, after 20 years in the secondary RE classroom. Mindu was delighted for me and when I asked if she would speak on Holocaust Memorial Day to staff and students at the University of Worcester, she immediately accepted. Once again, she gripped the lecture theatre which was filled, standing room only.

Little did I know at the time that a number of staff in the room were so inspired by Mindu’s far-reaching work within West Midland schools that shortly afterwards she was nominated for an Honorary Doctorate for her work to educate young people about the Holocaust. She received her Doctorate in Worcester Cathedral on 8^th November 2018 and you can read the citation here.

Following this well-deserved achievement, I worked with the Vice Chancellor’s office at the University of Worcester to nominate Mindu for a New Year Honours. In December 2019, Mindu was awarded an MBE for her work on Holocaust education and commemoration. A BBC news report about this is here.

Mindu receives all thanks, praise and admiration with her usual modesty and humility. She makes everyone she meets feel valued and has time to answer questions from pupils. She responds honestly, patiently and positively leaving her audience with a sense of wonder at her survival and also with hope for a brighter future. It is my privilege to call this inspiring woman a friend.

You can find out more about Mindu’s story by watching this episode of HARDtalk, filmed in January 2020, where she is interviewed by Stephen Sackur.