THE Travelling Holocaust Exhibition that came to Ardrossan last week was well received by locals, with three times as many people going as was first expected.  Gathering the Voices has been making its way across the country highlighting Jewish people who suffered during the Holocaust and keeping the memory of those who weren’t so lucky alive.  Steven Anson from the Gathering the Voices project said: “The library had set out eight to 10 chairs and 27 people attended so that was three times the number of people expected.

"Those in attendance seemed very moved by what was said.

"One couple had an unexpected Polish connection as they shared that a family member who was killed in the Katyn massacre.

“In the afternoon and evening, I passed round a document from the Red Cross which confirmed to the mother that her father Isaak Einstein and other family members had all died in the gas chambers in Auschwitz.

“Passing this around the immediacy of the Holocaust was brought home to people and they were actually handling documents instead of reading them or seeing them on the internet or television.

"The effect was quite spectacular.”  The exhibition, which shows various pictures and testimonies, is now in Linwood Secondary School after visiting other places in Ayrshire including Ayr and Largs.  Lara Breen from Ardrossan Library said: “We were delighted to be able to host this exhibition and were very impressed by the high quality and standard of the exhibition which included a wealth of fascinating images and testimonies which really brought to life the experiences of the people that came to Scotland to escape the Holocaust.  “The remarkable stories and the personal contribution of the speakers at the talks were both moving and inspiring.

"The exhibition was well visited by the general public and the talk on Thursday evening was extremely well attended.  “In addition St Matthew’s Academy second year history pupils also attended in the afternoon to see the exhibition and listen to the talk and were very engaged and interested in what they were seeing and hearing.  “The testimonies really brought home what they had been studying at school and hearing what they called true stories made it all very real for them.

"We would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to Gathering the Voices and admire their commitment and passion in their project.” If you missed the exhibition or would like more information, visit gatheringthevoices.com.