Stephen Metcalfe, MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, signed the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment on 23 January, pledging his commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and honouring those who were murdered during the Holocaust.
Holocaust Memorial Day falls on 27 January every year – the date in 1945 when Auschwitz-Birkenau, the infamous Nazi concentration camp, was liberated. Across the UK, people will come together to remember the horrors of the past, as well as pay tribute to the extraordinary survivors who work tirelessly to keep young people aware of one of the worst events in human history.
To mark 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. This year’s commemorations will focus on the ‘Fragility of Freedom’.
Holocaust Memorial Day also encompasses other groups which were persecuted and killed by the Nazis such as the Romani, the Sinti, people with disabilities, gay men, and political opponents. It is also a time to remember the victims of other genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
After signing the Book of Commitment, Stephen Metcalfe MP commented:
“Holocaust Memorial Day is an important day for reflection. By signing this Book of Commitment, I pledge to speak out against all forms of antisemitism and remember the 6 million Jewish men, women and children who were systematically murdered in the Holocaust. Sadly, antisemitism has risen exponentially in recent months and it needs to be tackled directly.”
Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said:
“On Holocaust Memorial Day, we remember the 6 million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, and we honour those who survived.
When the concentration camps of Europe were liberated, the reality of the Nazi attempt to eradicate world Jewry became clear. In newspapers, cinema and radio broadcasts the atrocities were laid bare. The phrase ‘Never Again’ was coined, reflecting the hope that the Holocaust would forever represent the ultimate result of anti-Jewish hatred; a warning signal for generations to come of where unchecked antisemitism could lead.
This Holocaust Memorial Day, as antisemitism once again sweeps across the globe, it is more important than ever to remember the 6 million Jewish victims and remind ourselves that anti-Jewish racism did not begin nor end with the Holocaust.”
