A ceremony in
commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day took place on Tuesday 26th January at
the Foreign Office. The ceremony was jointly organised by the Embassy of Israel
and the Foreign Office, for the annual commemoration of the millions of people
murdered in the Holocaust under Nazi persecution and in subsequent
genocides. It was attended by diplomats from many Embassies in London.
This year’s Memorial
Day adopted the theme “Don’t stand by”.
Amongst the guests that
participated in the Ceremony were Chargé d'affaires Eitan Na’eh, The Rt Hon
Baroness Anelay, Rt Hon Sir Eric Pickles MP and the keynote speaker was
Professor Dan Michman, Head of International Institute for Holocaust Research
at Yad Vashem. Holocaust survivor, Agnes Grunwald-Spier, shared her
family’s story, and Holocaust Educational Trust Regional Ambassador, Jake
Madgwick Lawson, spoke about his commitment to share the lessons of the
Holocaust with others.
Na’eh said -“Today we
are commemorating the victims of the Holocaust; one of the darkest times in
human history. We cannot change that, but we can change the future by educating
the younger generations about the Holocaust. We must continue to recognise the
role played by the Righteous Among the Nations, those who did not stand by, so
lessons will be learned”
The Rt Hon Baroness
Anelay said- “This event today reminds us of those unspeakable horrors.
As they begin to pass from living memory, pausing for remembrance becomes even
more important for us and for the next generation. We have to ensure we never
forget “
Rt Hon Sir Eric Pickles MP said “There were people who
intervened and didn’t stand by, they were remarkable people because they did
something about it, most people didn’t “