Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January) is the day for everyone to remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution, and in the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.
The national commemoration called ‘holocaust memorial day’ is a relatively recent addition to our calendars. The British government decided only in 2005 to make it an official occasion after it was realised that one of the more recent genocides had actually taken place in the heart of Europe namely in Bosnia. 27 January is the day for everyone to remember the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and the millions of people killed under Nazi Persecution, and in the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur. 27 January marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. It is a day on which we are encouraged to contemplate how even in what we may consider to be the most civilised of continents, genocide can still suddenly happen. Holocaust Memorial Day was set up to commemorate the Holocaust, and to reflect on atrocities that have taken place subsequently that demonstrate humanity’s failure to learn the lessons of the Holocaust.
Further information and resources on HMD can be found here: www.hmd.org.uk
Bernhard Schunemann
