Holocaust Memorial Day takes place each year on 27th January.

19 January 2023 13:01

We're marking Holocaust Memorial Day #HolocaustMemorialDay 27 January

27th January marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. It is the international day 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.

“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 Trust, 2023).

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) 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 2023 is 'Ordinary People'

Every year, a theme is selected for Holocaust Memorial Day. This highlights the ordinary people who let genocide happen, the ordinary people who actively perpetrated genocide, and the ordinary people who were persecuted.

Ordinary people were involved in all aspects of the Holocaust, Nazi persecution of other groups, and in the genocides that took place in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

Ordinary people were perpetrators, bystanders, rescuers, witnesses - and ordinary people were victims.

The 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. We are all ordinary people today who can be extraordinary in our actions. We can all make decisions to challenge prejudice, stand up to hatred, to speak out against identity-based persecution, to shop responsibly.