This week, Rachel Hopkins MP signed the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment. Rachel pledged her commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day, honoured those who were murdered during the Holocaust and paid tribute to the extraordinary Holocaust survivors who work tirelessly to educate young people today.
This year is 77 years since the liberation of the concentration camps of Europe and the end of the Second World War. On the 27th of January, people across the globe will remember the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
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 all the victims of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. The theme for this year’s commemorations is ‘One Day.
After signing the Book of Commitment, Rachel Hopkins MP commented:
“Holocaust Memorial Day is an important opportunity for people across Luton South to remember the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the millions of others murdered for their ethnicity, religion, political beliefs or sexual orientation. We must all reflect on the darkest time in European history and subsequent genocides.
With the passing of each survivor the Holocaust moves from living history, so it becomes ever more important that we take time to remember the victims and pay tribute to the survivors.”
Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said:
“As the Holocaust fades from living memory, it falls on all of us to ensure that their stories and the stories of the 6 Jewish million men, women and children brutally murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, are never forgotten. We all have a duty to remember the Holocaust and to stand up against antisemitism and hate, now more than ever.”
Notes for Editors
About the Holocaust Educational Trust
The Holocaust Educational Trust was founded in 1988. Our mission is to raise awareness and understanding in schools and amongst the wider public of the Holocaust and its relevance today. It is our belief that the Holocaust must have a permanent place in our nation’s collective memory.
Through our work we are enabling young people to understand the past and empowering them to stand up against antisemitism, prejudice and hatred in all its forms, to shape a more positive future. Today, our work is more vital than ever. In an increasingly fragile world and a volatile political climate here and abroad, it is so important that we work to educate young people about the Holocaust and its contemporary relevance.
About Holocaust Memorial Day
Holocaust Memorial Day was established following an MP’s visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau with the Holocaust Educational Trust. Moved by his visit, Andrew Dismore MP proposed a bill, “to introduce a day to learn and remember the Holocaust” on 30 June 1999.
The Holocaust Educational Trust has been closely involved in the establishment and development of Holocaust Memorial Day since its inception in 2000.
ENDS
For further information, please contact Cameron Iveson at rachel.hopkins.mp@parliament.uk or 0207 219 8424
Ella Rose, Public Affairs Manager on ella.rose@het.org.uk or 020 7222 6822