Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) is an international day on the 27th January that is set aside for all people to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution of other groups and in genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
27th January marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. The Holocaust threatened the fabric of civilisation, and genocide must still be resisted every day. Our world often feels fragile and vulnerable and we cannot be complacent. Even in the UK, prejudice and the language of hatred must be challenged by us all. Holocaust Memorial Day is for everyone. Each year across the UK, thousands of people come together to learn more about the past and take action to create a safer future.
The theme for this year is ‘One Day’. This theme reminds us that we should act in the now, today. It also helps us to understand how friendships, communities and millions of individual lives were changed in the matter of one day, some for the better and many for worse. One Day also speaks of the hope that helped people survive terrible conditions, and of the hope that we have for a better future for our world.
You can read more about Holocaust Memorial Day and read the stories of the survivors of genocides at the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website www.hmd.org.uk
Assemblies this week for all year groups are focused on Holocaust Memorial Day.
