AS people gathered to remember the victims of the Holocaust, pupils at one Bolton school heard first hand from one survivor who fled the Nazis to arrive on the shores of the UK as a World War II refugee.

Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines visited Essa Academy to help children understand what it is like to be refugee ­— being forced to leave your homeland in fear.

Her address was given extra poignancy this year, as Holocaust Memorial Day marked 75-years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, with the theme this year focused on "Standing Together".

Lady Milena spoke to GCSE religious studies students in a visit organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust.

She was born in Czechoslavakia in 1929 to Jewish parents.

Her father was urged to leave the day before the Nazis invaded because he was both Jewish and a supporter of an anti-Nazi author. He was able to escape but left his wife and children behind.

At the age of nine, Lady Milena and her younger sister Eva were able to leave Prague on a special train, arranged by Sir Nicholas Winton MBE, a British humanitarian who established an organisation to rescue children at risk from Nazi Germany.

Lady Milena was one of 669 children rescued by Sir Nicholas from Czechoslovakia.

As well as arranging safe passage to Britain, Sir Nicholas found homes for the children.

Lady Milena and her sister were cared for by an English family until their mother was able to arrive a year later once she had escaped via Norway.

Bethany Potter from Essa Academy said: "Students had the privilege of meeting Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines MBE.

"Students had the opportunity to ask Lady Milena questions about her experience as a refugee in Britain during World War II and how this has affected her life.

"Essa Academy’s students loved hearing from Lady Milena and her story has helped them to understand the experience of being a refugee and Britain’s history as a safe haven for those affected by war. We would like to thank Lady Milena and the Holocaust Education Trust for organising the visit."

The Holocaust Educational Trust, through its Outreach programme, arranges for Holocaust survivors to visit schools to deliver their personal testimony and for trained Holocaust educators to lead workshop sessions.

Survivors have spoken about their experiences in schools throughout Bolton.

A spokesman for the trust said: “We believe survivor testimony is at the heart of Holocaust education. Survivor testimony forms a key component of effective Holocaust education by putting a human face to history and enabling students to explore its lessons in depth. As the Holocaust moves further into history, it falls on all of us to ensure that their stories and the stories of the six Jewish million men, women and children brutally murdered by the Nazis, are never forgotten. We all have a duty to remember the Holocaust and to stand up against antisemitism and hate, now more than ever.”

And to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the government announced £500,000 of new funding for a programme supporting universities in tackling antisemitism on campus.

The money will support the Holocaust Education Trust (HET) to help educate the next generation about the horrors of the Holocaust and the importance of stamping out antisemitism and intolerance.

Each year, 150 university student leaders, student journalists and academics from around the country will hear from Holocaust survivors and visit the former Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau, where they will learn about the importance of stamping out antisemitism.

On their return, students will participate in a seminar which will deal explicitly with campus-specific issues and how to identify and tackle antisemitism.

Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust Karen Pollock MBE said: "Student leaders themselves are at the coalface on campus combatting the antisemitism that blights many students’ university experience. We are proud therefore that thanks to new government funding we will be able to offer a unique opportunity for student leaders and Vice-Chancellors for the next three years to visit Auschwitz.

"They will see for themselves the site where 1.1 million people were murdered, to understand where hate can ultimately lead and I hope this experience will empower them to stand up to prejudice, hatred and division on campus and in broader society.

"We are proud to partner with the Union of Jewish Students to deliver this important project."