A HOLOCAUST survivor talked about his horrifying experience to students at a school.

Year Nine students at Pleckgate High School in Blackburn listened to a testimony from Holocaust survivors Tomi Komoly as part of a visit organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust.

Tomi, who was a Jew in Hungary and is now 82, talked about his experiences during the Second World War and after the Nazi invasion.

He talked of the roar of German tanks coming up the street in Budapest in 1944 when he was seven years old and how he became a refugee and was welcomed with open arms in Austria in the 1950s.

This was before going to university in Glasgow and working as an engineer in ICI for 30 years.

Mr Komoly, said: “I was pleased to see in Pleckgate’s newsletter a story about their anti-bullying ambassadors. Bullying should not be tolerated anywhere and was one of the United Nation’s origins of genocide or mass killing."

Head of Re Jenny Savage said: “It was a privilege for us to welcome Tomi to our school and his testimony will remain a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced.

“We are grateful to the Holocaust Educational Trust for co-ordinating the visit and we hope that by hearing Tomi’s testimony, it will encourage our students to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust and make a positive difference in their own lives.”

The testimony was followed by a question and answer session to enable students to better understand the nature of the Holocaust and to explore its lessons in more depth.

The visit is part of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s extensive year round Outreach Programme.

Karen Pollock MBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust added: “By hearing Tomi’s testimony, students will have the opportunity to learn where prejudice and racism can ultimately lead.”