Antony Lishak, 67, is founder of Holocaust education charity Learning from the Righteous. He is a member of New North London Synagogue in Finchley, has three children and six grandchildren.
1. Why did you set up Learning from the Righteous?
I’ve been a teacher all my life. I was a primary school teacher for 16 years and am also a children’s author. When I left formal teaching in 1996, I worked as a creative writing expert, working with teachers and kids, and I loved helping kids find their voice on paper. I did this for around ten years, but in parallel, I was always interested in teaching about the Holocaust. Setting up Learning from the Righteous was about providing Holocaust education in a relevant, contemporary and meaningful way.
2. When did you become interested in Holocaust education?
I’m not from a family of Holocaust survivors, but after my paternal grandfather died, whom I was very close to, I found out that he had given refuge to a German Jewish child during the war. My grandfather was a tailor and someone he knew through his work in Berlin told him how awful it was there [after Hitler came to power], so my grandfather invited him and his family to stay with them one summer. His friend returned to Berlin, but they decided that his son, Ziggy, would stay in England at my grandfather’s. It was only when I was at a family wedding many years later that I met Ziggy, and he told me that my grandfather had saved his life and had supported him through education. My grandfather was such an inspirational guy and really made me reflect on who I am.
His story of giving refuge to Ziggy is the bedrock of what I do. I’m lucky to know many survivors and have so much respect for those who went on to rebuild their lives after all that they went through. I’m honoured that I have the chance to take them into schools to inspire others.
3. What makes Learning from the Righteous different from other Holocaust educational organisations?
Firstly, it’s very small and nimble, which means that when I raise funds, I’m not paying for offices, but paying for the project itself. For example, during the pandemic, I raised funds to have a Covid-free mobile studio, which I drove to survivors’ homes, so they could still share their testimonies remotely with pupils. I am able to do one interesting and innovative project and then move onto the next one. If I have an idea, I find a way of making it work.
4. What do you think is the key to effective Holocaust education?
If I am going up an escalator at an Underground station and see people going down the escalator on the other side, that for me epitomises what Learning from the Righteous does. I am with teachers and students for such a short time, and I want them to get off that escalator [after an educational session] and ask themselves: “How has this affected me? What is the difference I now want to make?”
The concept I try to get through to students and teachers is that we have choice – which is why I teach about the righteous among the nations. These were people who decided to go against the grain and are amazing role models.
There needs to be an emotional contact when you are teaching about the Holocaust. Otherwise, it just gets reduced to numbers and names of camps, and you are missing the human element.
For the In Their Footsteps exhibition, [which brings ceramic shoes created by artist Jenny Stolzenberg into schools], I spoke about the enormity of there being 500 shoes, but that each shoe belonged to an individual. One student said to me: “These shoes took on the shape of the person who wore them, so that person is still with us.” What is most important in teaching is the reactions of the students.
5. You have staged several concerts at the Wigmore Hall with your charity. How did that relationship come about?
Music has always been a big part of my life. Both my parents – Stanley and Bertha Lishak – were professional violinists, and I learnt the cello. I can’t tell you how many times we went to the Wigmore Hall when I was growing up. It’s a beautiful place, and the people there work very closely with the Jewish community.
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