Has your council made plans to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2024?
In January 2023, more than three-quarters of local authorities marked Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) and this year, with your help, that number can increase for 2024.
With just over two weeks to go, there is still time to get involved and to bring people together to mark this important day, online and in person.
HMD is the international day, on 27 January, to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of people killed under Nazi persecution of other groups, and in more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
It is an occasion for everyone to come together to learn, remember and reflect.
HMD 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Just 49 years after the Holocaust ended and 19 years after the genocide in Cambodia, the world stood by as Hutu extremists shattered the fragile freedom in Rwanda, following decades of tension and violence, culminating in the murder of more than one million Tutsis in just 100 days.
Each year, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) selects a theme for HMD and, this year, it is Fragility of Freedom.
In every genocide that has taken place, those who are targeted have had their freedom restricted and removed before many of them are murdered. This is often a subtle, slow process.
Genocide never just happens. There is always a set of circumstances that occur, or which are created, to build the climate in which genocide can take place and in which perpetrator regimes can remove the freedoms of those they are targeting.
Despite this, in every genocide there are those who risk their own freedom to help others, to preserve others’ freedom or to stand up to the regime.
On HMD 2024, we can all reflect on how freedom is fragile and vulnerable to abuse. As we come together in communities around the UK, let’s pledge not to take our freedoms for granted, and to consider what we can do to strengthen freedoms around the world.
HMD activities take place across the country from December to February, and there are many ways councils can mark the day, from staging a civic ceremony to reading the HMD Statement of Commitment at a council meeting.
Every council is also encouraged to join the Light the Darkness National Moment – when organisations light up their buildings in purple and people light candles in their windows at 8pm on 27 January, to remember those who were murdered for who they were, and to stand against prejudice and hatred today.
Visit the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website below to access free resources, including updated guidance for marking HMD 2024 and the ‘Get Involved Guide for local authorities’, and to order free stickers and booklets.
Remember to add your HMD activity to our interactive map to become part of the national picture of how the UK marks HMD 2024. Every activity and event counts, whether large or small, online or in person, internal or external.
To find out more, please visit the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s website at www.hmd.org.uk. If you have any questions or queries, please contact Dr Toni Griffiths, Senior Outreach Officer, by emailing [email protected]. The HMDT is funded by the UK Government to promote and support Holocaust Memorial Day.