On 24 January, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Chair of the London Assembly, Andrew Boff AM, joined the Jewish community leaders, Holocaust and genocide survivors at the Imperial War Museum (IWM) London, for a service to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January 2022).
This year’s service, in collaboration with the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, commemorated the survivors and victims of the Holocaust as well as those affected by other genocides.
The theme of this year’s event is ‘One Day’ – a concept deliberately left open to interpretation. One way of exploring the themes could be putting aside ‘One Day’ to come together to remember, to learn about, and reflect on the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and the genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur, in the hope that there may be ‘One Day’ in the future with no genocide.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The Imperial War Museum London is a fitting location for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day service, and I am pleased to join together with community leaders and survivors to mark the occasion. The Holocaust and the Second World War were some of the most devastating events in human history, and their impact cannot be understated. Both events will soon pass out of living memory, so it is more important than ever for us to commemorate the survivors and victims of both the Holocaust and subsequent genocides; to learn their stories, preserve their histories, and ensure that tragedy and violence on this scale is never to be repeated.”
The ceremony included speeches by the Mayor and Chair of the London Assembly, the El Male Rachamim memorial prayer read by Rabbi Epstein and Rebbetzin Ilana Epstein of the Western Marble Arch Synagogue. It also featured personal testimonies from Holocaust survivor Steven Frank BEM, Rwandan genocide survivor Eric Murangwa Eugene MBE, as well as reflections from Holocaust Educational Trust Ambassadors.
In London, Lambeth’s 2022 Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration took place online on Sunday, 23 January at 3.00 pm, with speakers Cllr Claire Holland, Leader of Lambeth Council and Cllr Annie Gallop, Mayor of Lambeth joining presenters, readers and singers.
Hammersmith & Fulham Council is marking Holocaust Memorial Day with a free online talk from survivor Ernest Simon. Ernest – who lives in London and is 91 years old – arrived in England in 1939 after escaping Vienna on the Kindertransport train. The talk takes place via Zoom from 11.30 am to 1.30 pm on Thursday 27 January.
The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Asghar Khan opened this year’s civic remembrance event, while Leeds Heritage Theatres’ Leeds Actors in Training (LAIT) created a performance for the event inspired by Emmanuel Ringleblum and the Oneg Shabbat Archive. The event concluded with a reading of the seven statements of commitments with candles lit by representatives of the different groups persecuted, including Holocaust survivors, people with additional needs, the LGBT+ community and Remembering Srebrenica.
Jonathan Metliss, Chairman of Action Against Discrimination, member of the Defence Committee of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Chairman, Axiom DWFM Solicitors told Asian Voice, “Notwithstanding the memories, the continuing education on the subject, and the numerous memorials throughout the country (there is one in Worthing near where I live in Sussex) racism and anti-Semitism sadly remain strong and alive. We see it in sport, especially in football where, for example, Tottenham supporters continue to chant ‘Yid’ and ‘Yid Army’ provoking anti-Semitic responses from other supporter groups, in particular, from Chelsea and West Ham where hissing noises replicating the Nazi gas chambers are often made.
“The sport of cricket has also seen its fair share of racism, especially with the recent revelations by the former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq and evidence of anti-Semitic comments by another Yorkshire cricketer.
“Synagogues throughout the United Kingdom are subject to additional security and protection, especially following the recent anti-Semitic attack on the synagogue in Colleyville Texas.
“So what have we learnt from the Holocaust? ‘Never again’, is the expression used by Israel and the Jewish Community. Holocaust Memorial Day is a stark reminder of the depths to which society can lower itself. We must live with hope and optimism and continue to fight and battle strenuously against racism, wherever it exists.”
Zaki Cooper the Co-Chair of the British Indian Jewish Association said, “Holocaust Memorial Day remains as relevant as ever. With the passing of the generation of survivors, we need to hear from them how one of the great civilisations of Europe could sink to such evil and depravity. By dehumanising Jews, as well as other groups like gypsies and gays, the Nazis legitimised their slaughter on an industrial scale. My wife had family who were killed in the Holocaust. Thankfully my ancestors, Jewish on both sides, were in England and India at the time, so escaped the horrors. The Holocaust ended over 75 years ago, but its lessons remain crucial and necessary. We must remind ourselves of the danger of picking on minorities, on people who are a bit different from us. We should reflect on how hate speech causes such damage and can lead to persecution and violence. We must recommit to the importance of speaking out against injustice and doing what we can to help those in need.”
