HOLOCAUST survivors in Hendon are urging the community to help preserve the memories of their history and culture by engaging with them on a personal level.

Members of the Jewish Care Holocaust Survivors' Centre (HSC) have launched an appeal for people to come forward to help ensure their stories are not forgotten.

The aim is to establish a series of one-to-one links between survivors and community members to allow them to develop a more rounded, personal understanding of the period.

Judith Hassan, Jewish Care's director of services for Holocaust survivors and refugees, said: "Survivors thought it would be the children and grandchildren who take on the transmission of the legacy, but some are unable to and some don't want to.

"We believe it is the responsibility of the whole community to get involved and become the link in the chain between the past and future, whether personally affected or not.

"We want to humanise the past and help people see survivors as individuals, not statistics, who have lives and interests, and who have positive messages to tell.

"The point is that these survivors did not only experience a period of horrendous brutalisation, but they were witnesses to whole cultures that were lost."

The HSC is especially appealing to Jewish teachers and rabbis, who they hope will set up projects in schools and synagogues that explore the Holocaust in its full cultural context.

Yiddish and cookery classes taught by survivors are among the ideas being touted by the centre. It has already set up a joint venture with the Jewish Free School, in Brent, which will see pupils teaching the survivors computer skills.

Hungarian Auschwitz survivor Lily Ebert stressed the importance of engaging the interest of young people.

"Even while we are still alive, there are people who deny what happened, so what will happen when we are not here?" she said. "We would like the younger generation to take over and prevent it being forgotten.

"But it is not about talking about the death of six million Jews. That is too much, the human brain cannot understand that sort of number.

"It is much better to speak one-to-one with people; then they can understand your tragedy.

"Every one of us had our own culture, our own distinct family values. When only one or two members of a family survive, that culture is at risk of being lost."

Anyone interested in learning more about projects run by the HSC can call the centre on 020 8202 9844.