Dear Editor, Tuesday 27th January commemorates International Holocaust Memorial Day. This year marks the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, the largest Nazi death camp, by Allied forces in January 1945 towards the end of the Second World War.
The Holocaust, one of the deadliest and most vicious acts in modern history perpetrated on the human race, saw the mass killing of 6 million Jewish children, women and men by the genocidal Nazi regime.
As well as Jews, other groups were also targeted, such as gypsies, homosexuals, liberals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Poles, Freemasons, Soviets, those with mental and physical disabilities, and Afro-Germans.
Every January, people across the world come together to mark the anniversary of the end of the Holocaust, as we do here in Bath and North East Somerset.
We’re grateful to all the groups and organisations across the district who are organising events from Bath & North East Somerset Council to the B&NES Faith Foundation and from the Bath Interfaith Group to the Royal United Hospital.
This year’s theme, ‘Bridging Generations’, is a call to action for everyone to actively learn from the past, carry lessons forward, and build connections between survivors’ stories and future generations to create hope and prevent future atrocities, focusing on preserving legacies and passing on testimonies as the world marks anniversaries like the liberation of Auschwitz.
To find out about events happening locally visit the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website: www.hmd.org.uk
If you’re unable to attend any local events, we’d encourage readers to light a candle at home on 27th January.
It’s only by remembering the past that we can learn for the future.
Karen and Gavin
Cllr Karen Walker and Cllr Gavin Heathcote
Independent Councillors, Peasedown St John
Bath and North East Somerset Council
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