Holocaust Survivor Talk

The event was facilitated by the Holocaust Educational Trust (H.E.T.) and arranged in conjunction with Philosophy, Ethics and Religion at Bangor University and the National Centre of Religious Education for Wales, and its aim was to give students and staff the unique opportunity to hear the story of an individual who experienced the calamity of the Holocaust first hand. 

Dr Agnes Kaposi discussed her background, being born in Debrecen to socialist Jewish parents, and how the dawn of the Second World War impacted her greatly. Having been forced to undertake laborious work on a farm, Agnes was then taken to Ostmarkwerke in Vienna to manufacture anti-aircraft guns for the German army. Agnes and her family were then transferred to a transit camp near Vienna, and narrowly escaped deportation to death camps, and were finally liberated in the spring of 1945.

Despite such awful event, Agnes went on to study for a degree in Electronic Engineering from the Technical University of Budapest in 1956. With time, she became a researcher and then a lecturer, and was the third woman to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

The inspiring and poignant story of Agnes had such an impact on our students, as the following testimonies demonstrate:

‘I would like to thank Agnes on sharing their story with us. Hearing about her survival of the Holocaust and the decisions she had to make to ensure her family's survival in Vienna that led to eventual liberation was remarkable. I was moved when hearing about the struggles she and her family had faced.’
Aliana Kempson, MRes student in Philosophy and Religion.

‘This event was particularly striking and immensely helpful for students like myself, studying the Philosophy module, 'Philosophical and Religious Responses to the Holocaust'. Of the several testimonies I have heard from different Holocaust Survivors, Agnes delivered her testimony from a particularly unique academic and theoretical perspective. Her testimony was packed with detached factual detail focusing on the questions she has had in previous events where she had delivered her testimony. I want to thank the organisers and H.E.T. for giving us this opportunity to speak to Agnes, as an academic and Holocaust survivor, who's testimony and responses to her experiences enriched our module immensely.’  
Rachel Hall, BA Philosophy and Religion and English Literature student and former H.E.T. Ambassador.

‘It was amazing to hear first-hand the account of someone who survived the Holocaust. It has impacted me on an emotional level to relate something we have learnt about in depth to someone who is still here to tell her amazing story.’
Bella Winrow, BA Philosophy, Ethics and Religion student.

‘Such an interesting experience by a truly inspirational woman. I learnt about the anti-Semitic aspects which affected Jewish people before and even after the Holocaust, in addition to learning about Dr Agnes Kaposi and her family’s moving story.’
Megan Jones, BA Philosophy, Ethics and Religion and Welsh student.

Dr Gareth Evans-Jones, lecturer of Philosophy and Religion and Co-director of the National Centre of Religious Education for Wales, commented, ‘This was a significant opportunity for our students and staff to hear about the Holocaust by a true survivor. Studying and discussing the awful event in class is very sobering, but hearing an actual story, not only of persecution and suffering, but also of strength and survival, by a Holocaust survivor is without doubt an experience beyond words.’

The story of Dr Agnes Kaposi can be seen in her memoir, Yellow Star – Red Star (2020), and is most definitely worth a read.

For further information regarding the Holocaust Educational Trust, please see: https://www.het.org.uk/

To learn more about the National Centre of Religious Education for Wales, please see: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/history-law-social-sciences/national-centre-for-religious-education-in-wales