Tributes to Gordonstoun founder Kurt Hahn who fled Nazis
Tributes have been paid to the founder of an independent boarding school who fled his home country of Germany to escape the Holocaust.The Princess Royal and first minister sent their best wishes as a plaque was unveiled during a special service at Gordonstoun School to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Kurt Hahn, a German Jew, fled his homeland to Moray in 1933 after speaking out about the Nazis' rise to power. After he settled in the area he founded the school in 1934. The late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was one of the first students. Three of his children later the school, including the King.
On Sunday, the plaque by the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) was unveiled by Michael Flesch, who was a student at Gordonstoun. His father was a pupil at Salem School in Southern Germany, where Mr Hahn was headmaster before fleeing to Scotland.
In a letter, the Princess Royal said: "This plaque will be a permanent monument, informing students, teachers and visitors of Kurt Hahn's bravery and accomplishments."It will serve as a reminder of how it came to be that Hahn came here to Gordonstoun, and also serves as a warning of what happens when a society succumbs to the dangers of indifference in the face of extremism and racial hatred."My late father, the Duke of Edinburgh, thrived during his time here and counted Kurt Hahn as a personal friend, having already benefited from his wisdom in the formative years in Germany."I am sure that he would have deeply approved of this unveiling."
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex.Gordonstoun principal Peter Green said: "Our founder Kurt Hahn showed immense courage in publicly standing up to the Nazi party in the face of extreme adversity."Without his selfless determination, Gordonstoun would not exist today. We owe Hahn an eternal debt of gratitude for his vision in setting up a school with an educational philosophy focused on service and compassion."Hahn was ahead of his time in his thinking and today his memory lives on through the achievements of our wonderful students with their passion and instinct to help others, whether it's in the local community or further afield."Today's plaque unveiling will serve as an everlasting tribute to Hahn and his impact on education around the globe. This was a fitting initiative by the AJR which Gordonstoun is proud to support."
Holocaust 'one of the darkest periods'
First Minister John Swinney said in a letter to the AJR: "The atrocities inflicted upon the Jewish people during the Holocaust remain one of darkest periods of human history, but it is the bravery of individuals such as Mr Hahn that can inspire the rest of us to stand in solidarity against forces which seek to target the most vulnerable members of our society."AJR trustee Frank Harding MBE came up with the idea for the plaque. He said when Mr Hahn fled to the UK, having been briefly imprisoned as both a Jew and a notable and prominent outspoken critic of the Nazi regime, he brought with him the "ethos and values" which made the school "a leading and inspiring institution of learning".
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Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A SECRET underground Nazi complex that was never completed remains a mystery as no one knows for certain why Adolf Hitler's genocidal regime built it. The Third Reich began to build a gigantic subterranean bunker with Jewish slave labour in what was then Germany at the end of WW2 - known as Project Riese. 13 The entrance to the secret Nazi underground tunnels in Poland Credit: Alamy 13 The tunnels were built at the end of the war but abandoned as the Soviets advanced Credit: Alamy 13 Some believe the complex could have been a new HQ for the Nazi military Credit: Getty 13 Tragically, 5,000 workers died after they were brought from the nearby Gross-Rosen concentration camp to begin work in 1943. Riese means Giant in German - a code name which represents the Nazi's ambition with the project. But the cavernous tunnels in modern southwestern Poland are now harmless and have become a tourist destination. There are seven underground complexes that make up Project Riese in Poland's Owl Mountains - with the City of Osówka just one of the locations. Zdzisław Łazanowski - a guide at the City of Osówka - told The Sun the project could have been the secretive future HQ for the Reich's evil Chancellor. He said: "Our best idea is that it was meant to be the headquarters of the army... and also the headquarters for the main person in the Third Reich - Adolf Hitler." But as the allies advanced on Germany, the purpose of Riese changed and the underground tunnels were used to build weapons. None of the complexes were ever fully completed by the Nazis and Łazanowski said they haven't all been explored. He said: "We've explored eight and a half kilometres, but we know about two places where they [tunnels] were destroyed. "There are lots of loose rocks and we need to dig about two metres, through a lot of loose rocks, to get to the tunnels." Hitler's Final Hours: Russian Archives Reveal New Evidence 80 Years Later Nazi papers found in Prague following the war say that Riese needed another year of work by slave labourers to finish it. Łazanowski said: "When we host our guests from all the world, we tell them that we are now at a building site, and we can see the the the situation that was left when the Germans left." Osówka was almost completed and has railroads, mess halls, and power generators built in an underground grid of 1.1miles (1.8km) long. There is also the bones of a concrete hall 10 metres high with a shaft for an elevator to service 16 planned floors. 13 Not all the tunnels have been explored yet Credit: Alamy 13 The tunnels have now become a tourist attraction Credit: City of Osówka 13 The V2 rocket was tested in Project Riese's tunnels Credit: Getty - Contributor Another bizarre structure is a concrete monolith with dozens of pipes, drains, and culverts, buried into the rock at least 14.7ft (4.5m). There is also a unconnected shaft that contains a dam and hydraulic equipment - but for an unknown purpose. Other sites in the complex would have hosted underground weapons factories - had they been finished. There's even a testing area where the Nazis would have worked on developing the V1 and V2 rockets. Łazanowski said Riese would have been built into the mountain to protect it from bombers - similar to America's Cheyenne Mountain Complex. Some believe the tunnels are also hiding the fabled Nazi gold train. 13 Herman Goering parades into Cologne following the remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936 Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd 13 The Amber Room of the Czars was looted by the Nazis and disappeared Credit: Public Domain 13 Nazi architect Albert Speer (left) with Hitler and German sculptor Arno Breker Credit: Corbis - Getty The legend comes from a Pole who worked in the mine after the end of the war, according to Łazanowski. Germans living in the area told the Pole that one train had collected all the precious items from the neighbouring villages and gone into the underground complex to hide from the advancing Soviets. The Pole became so obsessed by the story that he rode through the tunnels on trains to try and find the treasure. Łazanowski said they had not found the gold train inside the tunnels. "But there are documents that say in the middle of January 1945 the Germans moved their money from the bank in Wroclaw... but we don't know if it was put on the train." A detailed letter was sent to Polish authorities last month claiming to finally reveal the alleged train's long-lost location. 13 Above ground structures include guard houses Credit: Alamy 13 The complexes were never finished and now lie abandoned Credit: Alamy 13 The complexes are now tourist destinations Credit: Alamy The anonymous tipster claimed to have uncovered train wagons hidden in a tunnel in the Owl Mountains. Others think the tunnels could be the place where the Nazis stashed the Amber Room. The Amber Room - also sometimes referred to as the eighth wonder of the world - was one of Russia's most treasured artefacts until it was looted by the Nazis from its palace home near Saint Petersburg and lost forever. It had been installed at the Berlin City Palace and gifted by Prussian King Frederick William I to the Russian Empire in 1716. The tunnels are not thought to have been visited by Hitler, but his infamous architect and minister for weapons production Albert Speer did. Łazanowski said the tunnels were an important historical site because they were a sad memorial to the people that built them. Riese's builders were prisoners from Gross-Rosen concentration camp including Jews, Poles, and POWs. Łazanowski said: "Our aim is to show people who come here to visit this place, show them the whole view of the working site, of the achievements, of the the Germans completed the idea of this place. "But we also mention, and that's the big part of our job, to tell the visitors about the history of people who are building this place, not just the people who planted this place, but the people who were digging out the rocks and were doing this cruel work for the to track." The Red Army stormed through the Owl Mountains on May 8, 1945 - a day after the Nazis abandoned Project Riese. But the Russians didn't use the site, instead looting anything that could be carried back to Russia like drills or power generators.
