This week Mims Davies MP signed the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment, in doing so pledging her commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and honouring those who were murdered during the Holocaust as well as paying tribute to the extraordinary Holocaust survivors who work tirelessly to educate young people today. This year we are marking 77 years since the liberation of the concentration camps of Europe and the end of the Second World War. On the 27th January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, people across the globe will remember.
After signing the Book of Commitment Mims Davies MP commented:
“Holocaust Memorial Day is an important opportunity for people from Mid Sussex to reflect on the darkest times of European history. As the Holocaust moves from living history, to history, it becomes ever more important that we take the time to remember the six million Jewish victims and also pay tribute to the survivors.”
An outside service, with the theme of ‘One Day’ was held at the Haywards Heath War Memorial. The service organised by Amnesty International with the Support of Haywards Heath Town Council was attended by Town and District councillors, local faith groups, school children, and representatives of the Jewish community, including the local Imam. Local school children read poems and readings from holocaust survivors.
Howard Mundin, Mayor of Haywards Heath, said:
“There are those still alive who can remember one day when their lives were shattered and changed forever, one day when they lost loved ones to violent and cruel acts, one day when they first entered captivity and their lives were filled with terror, and the hope that one day the time will come when we can all live in peace.”
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’.
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.”
