This week Rebecca Harris MP signed the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment, and in doing so pledged her commitment to marking Holocaust Memorial Day – honouring the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered during the Holocaust as well as paying tribute to the extraordinary Holocaust survivors who work tirelessly to educate young people today.
Holocaust Memorial Day falls on 27 January, marking the anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration and death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau. Across the UK and internationally, people will come together to commemorate the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps across Europe and to remember the Holocaust.
With survivors becoming fewer and frailer, the responsibility falls on us and the next generation to remember and ensure the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten. This Holocaust Memorial Day presents a key opportunity to bring the Holocaust to the fore of our national consciousness.
In the lead up to and on Holocaust Memorial Day, thousands of commemorative events will be arranged by schools, faith groups and community organisations across the country, remembering the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The theme for this year’s commemorations is ‘Bridging Generations’.
On Holocaust Memorial Day we also remember and pay tribute to all of those persecuted by the Nazis, including Roma and Sinti people, disabled people, gay men, political opponents to the Nazis and others.
After signing the Book of Commitment, Rebecca commented:
“Holocaust Memorial Day this year marks over 80 years since the liberation of the infamous former Nazi concentration and death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, in 1945. Today presents an important opportunity for people from Castle Point to reflect on the darkest times of European history. I pledge to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered in the Holocaust and speak out against all forms of antisemitism, which in recent months has risen exponentially and which needs to be tackled head on.”
Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said:
“On Holocaust Memorial Day we remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators; and we honour the survivors who rebuilt their lives while coming to terms with unimaginable loss.
"Over 80 years on, the Holocaust is fading further into history. As the voices of survivors sadly fades the responsibility to continue their legacy passes firmly on to the next generation. The loss of eyewitness and the urgency to protect their stories for the next generation is crucial.
"This Holocaust Memorial Day comes at a moment of renewed danger for Jewish communities worldwide. From Bondi Beach in Australia to Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, in recent months we have seen Jewish people murdered while observing their holiest days. These atrocities did not occur in a vacuum. This followed two years where antisemitism has been permitted to grow louder, more brazen and increasingly normalised. Remembering the murder of Jewish people in the past is essential, but remembrance alone is no longer sufficient, especially while Jewish lives remain at risk today.
"Holocaust Memorial Day must be a call to action. Antisemitism must be confronted early and decisively, everywhere it appears, before it escalates into violence. It is up to all of us.”
