The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) is a charity established by the government to promote and support Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK. Each year a new theme is chosen to commemorate the day, this year’s is Bridging Generations.
“ Holocaust Memorial Day is a vital opportunity to remember the millions of lives lost and to honour the survivors who continue to share their experiences. By commemorating the Holocaust, we reaffirm our commitment to stand against hatred, prejudice and discrimination in all its forms, and to ensure that the lessons of the past are never forgotten. “
Mayor of Walsall, Councillor Louise Harrison
Walsall Council
The day remembers the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered, and the non-Jewish people murdered because they were gay, disabled, Roma, Sinti or a member of another community targeted by the Nazis. The day also reflects on where persecution led in other atrocities in countries like Bosnia, Cambodia, Darfur, and Rwanda.
The theme of Bridging Generations is a reminder that the responsibility of remembrance does not end with survivors, but that it lives on through their children, grandchildren and through all of us. As more years pass, so does the distance from these genocides and with that distance brings a risk as memory fades and the sharp reality of what happened becomes blurred, abstract or even questioned.
