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Original poster

Things overheard in the hairdressers. Couldn’t believe my ears this afternoon.

372 replies

ChocolateDoll · 22/08/2018 20:52

Sat with dye on my hair listening to this conversation taking place next to me. Didn’t know whether to laugh or cry Sad

HAIRDRESSER: What you going to do on your holidays, then?

CLIENT: Well, we’re planning to visit Auschwitz.

HAIRDRESSER: Oh, right. What you gonna do there then? Just chill out for a bit?

CLIENT: Umm...well uhhh....it’s a concentration camp, you know?

HAIRDRESSER: oh right....sorry.....thought it was like a resort or something.

OP posts:
Graphista · 22/08/2018 22:44

Grimtimes - that's shocking!

My dd 17 has seen boy with the striped pyjamas and Schindlers list and read Anne Frank's diary (prompted by watching boy in the striped pyjamas) and this was a few years ago now.

It's just struck me that the only great grandparent she knew was the one that didn't serve. The others all passed before she was born.

One granda I barely knew myself he died quite young even for his generation, he had illness as a result of serving. This was not unusual for my generation, many of my friends had grandparents who were ill as a result of serving in the war. They also didn't really talk about it except in general terms, they didn't like to discuss their personal experiences. Part of that in one case was due to the secrecy of the work (which has since become well known and several films/tv shows made about it) they took their promises to keep those secrets very seriously.

I also remember vaguely something about the Cambridge spies being in the news. And my (normally very non-sweary, mild mannered and calm) granda, raging at the news "should've hanged the treacherous bastards! They got good people killed!"

Mrbatmun · 22/08/2018 22:45

I don't think The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is the best book/film to learn about the Holocaust!

I can't understand how an 18 year old couldn't know what Auschwitz is. It's just inexcusable ignorance.

ShirleyPhallus · 22/08/2018 22:46

“She said Elgar marbles when she really meant Elgin marbles, oh how we laughed and laughed and chortled at one’s stupidity!!!!”

Seriously, some of the comments on this thread are way beyond up their own arse even for mumsnet.

Basic historical facts everyone should know, but the level of snobbery and the undertone of this thread which is basically “stupid things service workers have said let’s laugh at them” is shocking.

Holocaust - surprising not to know
Elgin vs Elgar marbles - oh do fuck off

figelnarage · 22/08/2018 22:47

Motherhood which countries have erased the Holocaust? Genuine question, excuse my ignorance.

KERALA1 · 22/08/2018 22:55

Dh and his hairdresser have formed an unlikely bond. He really respects her opinion and runs our parenting dilemmas past her. Annoyingly she is always right in her advice. "Well Debbie thinks.." is a common refrain from dh on dd related issues.

Last time I was in the hairdressers there was a fascinating conversation an elderly woman bemoaning the behaviour of her grandson who had just dumped the mother of his baby. Everyone was on the girlfriends side including the granny who announced her late husband was the same - too good looking, unreliable and unfaithful. Much tutting and sympathetic noises and a general "men can be bastards " vibe It was fortunate there were no male customers they would have felt rather uncomfortable !

Frazzled2207 · 22/08/2018 22:59

It's so terrible isn't it. I am 40 and never did anything about Ww2 at school. That said I know quite a lot about it. A lot of that however would have been because my grandparents had quite a lot of wartime stories and although my parents were born just after it was obviously in their consciousness growing up so we talked about it at home and as I got older I watched lots of documentaries etc It's nearly 80 years since it began. Unfortunately it will be less understood as time goes on. Lots of awful things happened in the 19th century that I have no idea about.

My children are too young just now but will most definitely be told about it when older.

Vicky1990 · 22/08/2018 23:06

frontera.
Another thread on here asked what was the worst film you ever went to see?.
I said Dunkirk.
It made a mockery of that historical event so please don't think you didn't learnt anything about what happened, nobody did as it was completely devoid of authenticity, that's polite for saying it was crap.

teddycat · 22/08/2018 23:09

Isn't the point about the Elgin marbles that they are not British culture and the tourist had wanted to see more British stuff but she suggested something that is Greek ?

emsmum79 · 22/08/2018 23:10

**I don't think The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is the best book/film to learn about the Holocaust!

Why not? I've not watched it since it was first released but I thought it was very good and portrayed it well.

frontera · 22/08/2018 23:11

@Vicky1990 I better go read the Dunkirk Wikipedia page and find out what actually happened so! I thought it was a great film but maybe that's because I didn't know the proper, historical version of events.

underneaththeash · 22/08/2018 23:11

I did WW2 at school in year 1&2 (then) of senior school and understood the Holocaust, but it wasn't until I was researching my inter-rail trip during uni - which was the then gap year for students during the mid-90's that the name of the camps stuck in my head after we visited Krakow.

LuluJakey1 · 22/08/2018 23:13

I was with my mam was in the hairdressers in Bensham, Gateshead just after Gazza married Sheryl about 1995/6. An old lady, who turned out to be Gazza's grandma, was showing wedding photos and saying 'This is Sheryl having a tab and that's our xxx holding her veil out of the way incase it caught fire'.
Grin

mathsquestions · 22/08/2018 23:17

The not so honourable leader of the Opposition has many many friends who deny the Holocaust ever happened.

Peakypolly · 22/08/2018 23:18

do we really expect an 18 year old to have watched Schindlers List or The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (etc)?
TBH I don’t know how they could have avoided it...and The Book Thief.
None of my 3 DC (18 to 24) did History to A-level but do know the basics of WW1 and 2. Aghhh... whatever the basics are I suppose.
What’s the poem? “First they came for the Jews, but I wasn’t a Jew” etc. This was a standard text for them in Year 7,

Peakypolly · 22/08/2018 23:20

Niemöller apparently, and it was the Socialists first!
(Never did it at my school in the 1980’s, forgive me)

WickedGirl · 22/08/2018 23:25

Surely it’s our responsibility as parents to make our children aware of such atrocities?

How can we prevent it from ever happening again if they don’t understand how it has already happened and what caused it?

Bbub · 22/08/2018 23:27

I agree this is a snobby thread. And anecdotes about someones kids watching the boy in the striped pjs (i havent seen it) doesn't prove a point or add to the debate in my opinion.

Nillynally · 22/08/2018 23:32

Once knew a primary school teacher who thought I was pulling her leg when I told her about the channel tunnel. After further questioning we established the reason she didn't believe me was because she thought we were attached to France and a part of mainland Europe.

DayKay · 22/08/2018 23:35

I dont feel I got a good school education in world history either but I picked up a lot from films which led me to read more and watch documentaries.
I remember the film Escape from Sorbibor being the trigger to find out more about the holocaust and Cry Freedom to find out more about apartheid.

Pythonesque · 22/08/2018 23:37

With the raising of the school leaving age, perhaps there would be a good place to introduce a short general knowledge based curriculum to explore immediately after GCSEs or at some other convenient time.

Themerrygoroundoflife · 22/08/2018 23:37

I feel the need to defend this girl... isn’t it more likely that she just misheard. It’s a slightly odd answer tbh, it’s a place you visit but most people won’t spend their summer holidays entirely visiting a concentration camp, so I can imagine why she just misheard and assumed it was a resort somewhere.

Of course, that answer wouldn’t allow everyone to have a nice good rant about “the youth of today”....

PrincessoftheSea · 22/08/2018 23:39

I am not British, but did a degree at an English university. I did history as part of my first year and remember being surprised by how I seemed to have a better grasp of British history than people born and grown up in Britain and also the lack of knowldge of European and world history. I am raising my children here and they attend British schools, but I am really aware I have to supplement their education at home.

gonnabreakmyrustycage · 22/08/2018 23:39

The boy in the striped pyjamas is a bad depiction because, if not for anything else, virtually all children and most women were sent to their deaths in the gas chambers immediately upon arrival at the camps.

Ginorchoc · 22/08/2018 23:44

My 14 year old knows a lot about WW1 & 2. We have followed my great, great uncles journey to where he was killed and buried in Ypres. She has seen the Boy in the stripped pyjamas film and at the theatre and met an holocaust survivor and bought his book. I’m in my 40s and it was taught in school. I’m really surprised people are unaware.

tracymars · 22/08/2018 23:46

Maybe the people who don't know about the holocaust or Auschwitz don't watch television much. Or mostly watch on demand stuff like Netflix. I can't remember learning about it at school, but there's a lot of things that are a big part of our history through television. Not just films and programmes that have it as the main subject, but incidental mentions in other programmes. As a TV watcher it's really hard to not know anything about it.