Join us on Facebook

News Archive

Holocaust Memorial Day

Subscribe to RSS RSSFriday, 21st January, 2011

This year?s Holocaust Memorial Day will be commemorated at Birmingham?s Town Hall on Sunday 23 January at 2pm. 

The free ceremony will include lighting candles of remembrance, speeches, music and a short film screening. Holocaust Memorial Day is part of an international day of remembrance for those who suffered in the past, as well as to help prevent future atrocities. Marking the 66th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps, the theme for 2011 is ?Untold Stories?. 

Through this, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust aims to encourage people to remember the victims of Nazi persecution and other genocides. They also aim to ensure that the Untold Stories from the past do not get lost, whilst making the hopes of survivors part of a shared, safe future. 

 Cllr Martin Mullaney, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport & Culture said: ?By remembering people who have suffered, or who are suffering, at the hands of others because they are different, this moving commemoration is a reminder about why we all need to treat each other with respect and dignity.? Doors will open at 1.30pm, giving everyone who wishes to attend a chance to light their own candles of remembrance before the proceedings. Speakers at the ceremony will include Holocaust survivor, Magda Bloom, and pupils from Lordswood Girls School speaking about their visit to Auschwitz. There will also be a Holocaust Memorial Day Trust DVD ? Untold Stories - reflecting the theme of the service. 

The ceremony is organised by Birmingham City Council in conjunction with local communities and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. For the full programme, go to Holocaust Memorial or call 0121 303 3008.

HMD 2011 Untold Stories from Holocaust Memorial Day Trust on Vimeo.