Holocaust survivors visit Cape Fear Academy

Some area students took a break from history class to learn first hand about the Holocaust on Friday.

Students at Cape Fear Academy had the chance to hear from two Holocaust survivors, Bronia Merlin who survived five years of captivity in Auschwitz, and Alfred Schnog who escaped from Germany before the worst of the Holocaust.

You could hear a pin drop as Merlin shared her story of persecution and torture.

Students said hearing what happened made an impact.

“I think it gave students a lot of insight to her past and how she grew up and the struggles that she went through,” said CFA student Shelby Jones.

Jan Reinties is a German exchange student at CFA. “You still feel this connection to it, I think more than the other people here. Of course in Germany it’s a big topic in school. Teachers teach a lot about it and we hear stories like this.”