Warwickshire residents invited to reflect and learn through memorial services and educational materials
Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) takes place annually on 27 January. It’s the anniversary of the liberation of the largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, by Soviet troops in 1945.
In the UK, it is organised by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the charity that was established and funded by the UK Government to promote and support HMD in the UK.
This international day of remembrance commemorates the 6 million Jews who were murdered in the holocaust (also known as the Shoah), as well as the millions of Roma and Sinti people (sometimes referred to as ‘Gypsies’), black people, Slavic people, gay people, disabled people, Free Masons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, trade unionists, and political opponents to the Nazi regime who were murdered under Nazi persecution.
Today, HMD also commemorates the loss of life occurring as part of the genocides that have followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.
The theme of Holocaust Memorial Day for 2023 is ‘Ordinary People’, reflecting the people who have been murdered have not committed any crimes, they are just ordinary people who belong to certain groups in society. It also recognises that ordinary people were witnesses to these atrocities, bystanders, rescuers, and perpetrators.
‘Our theme this year, though, highlights the ordinary people who let genocide happen, the ordinary people who actively perpetrated genocide, and the ordinary people who were persecuted. Our theme will also prompt us to consider how ordinary people, such as ourselves, can perhaps play a bigger part than we might imagine in challenging prejudice today’. - Holocaust Memorial Day Trust UK
This theme invites reflection on the role each individual plays in fighting hatred and prejudice. It is an opportunity to work with friends, family, and co-workers in committing to standing up to prejudice in any way possible and keeping the memory of those murdered in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides alive.
Ways to mark the day, learn more, and get involved
- Warwick Town will hold an annual Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony at the War Memorial at 11am.
- St Mary’s Guildhall in Coventry will hold a service 1pm-3pm.
- At 8pm, households across the UK will be lighting candles and putting them safely in their windows to remember those who were murdered and to also take a stand against prejudice and hatred today.
- Share your involvement on social media using the hashtags #HolocaustMemorialDay and #LightTheDarkness as well as raising awareness by sharing stories, experiences, events or even pictures of your candles.
- Warwickshire Libraries have put together Holocaust memorial reading lists that can be accessed in our local libraries.
- Watch ‘What is Genocide’ on YouTube. Content Warning: contains images of genocide that some may find distressing.
- Listen to the ‘History this Week’ Podcast and hear the stories of Mindu Hornick and Bill Harvey in the ‘Surviving Auschwitz’ episode. Content warning: contains accounts from the Holocaust that some may find distressing.
- Watch ‘Surviving the Holocaust’ on YouTube. Content warning: contains personal accounts and images from the Holocaust that some may find distressing.
Councillor Andy Jenns, Portfolio Holder for Customer and Transformation at Warwickshire County Council (WCC), said:
“We want Warwickshire to be a place where everyone feels valued, included, safe and welcome, and we place inclusivity at the heart of everything we do. In joining the nation in commemorating the victims of the Holocaust this Holocaust Memorial Day, we recognise the freedoms we enjoy today and understand the role we play in fighting hatred and prejudice. We hope the provision of reading lists and materials from our library service will support our residents wishing to better understand these atrocities and their role in our history, while our thoughts are with the communities affected by genocide historically and today.”