Sunday 27th January was Holocaust Memorial Day and I was honoured and humbled last week to join other MPs and sign the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment in Parliament.
The Holocaust Educational Trust was founded in 1988 during the passage of the War Crimes Act. Their aim is to raise awareness and understanding in schools and amongst the wider public of the Holocaust and its relevance today.
The Holocaust Educational Trust has been closely involved in the establishment and development of Holocaust Memorial Day since its inception in 2000. Holocaust Memorial Day commemorates the many millions of victims murdered during the horror and crime of the Holocaust.
It is marked annually on 27th January, the anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau and the theme for the UK Holocaust Memorial Day 2019 was ‘Torn from Home’.
Holocaust Memorial Day is always an important opportunity for people from Staffordshire Moorlands and across the country to reflect on the tragic events of the Holocaust.
It is a day when we put aside all forms of difference and reflect on the unspeakable evil that emerges from intolerance, prejudice and division. The Holocaust shook the foundations of civilisation and is an indelible and deep scar on human history.
We also commemorate the victims of genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. We mark the ongoing devastation of genocide. We reflect on the role we can all play to heal division.
We not only preserve the memory of those who were murdered but honour those who showed heroism in the face of evil by fighting hatred.
Together we must continue marking, remembering and learning from the lessons of the Holocaust and all genocides. We must come together to fight prejudice and stand up for tolerance and peace.