Holocaust Memorial Day

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) takes place every year on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. It is an international day to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution of other groups and in genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. It is an occasion for everyone to come together to learn, remember and reflect. Ordinary People is the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2023.

“And as a five year old, I could stand at the edge of the clearing where the trains were being loaded. People like sardines in those wooden trucks. And the people loading them in – they were railway men, they didn’t look terribly different from the railway men who check my tickets these days – they looked like ordinary people.” Dr Martin Stern MBE, Holocaust survivor

St John Bosco Arts College will be marking this year through the stories of the individuals and the ordinary people who have been affected by the Holocaust. Our school library has a collection of stories our students can read to help them understand how ordinary people just like them were affected and how this changed the world.

We will remember all those affected through our prayer and liturgy when we come together as form classes, remembering and reflecting on the stories we have read and those that have lost their lives and families.

Mr Gidman Headteacher “This is an important day, we take this time to remember, reflect and pray for those who have been affected by genocide and take the time to learn and play our part in ensuring it never happens again.”

More information can be found about Holocaust Memorial Day from the Holocaust Memorial Trust, https://www.hmd.org.uk/.