Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Day

Southampton’s Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Day - 27 January

Why 27 January each year?

27 January is the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau – seen as a powerful symbol of the horrors of the Holocaust.

What are the Day’s aims?

Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Day’s aims are to:
Remember all victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution – Jews, Roma and Sinti (Gypsies), East European civilians, Russian prisoners of war, trade unionists, Communists, political opponents, disabled people, Jehovah’s Witnesses, gay men and lesbians and Black Germans.
Reflect upon those affected by more recent atrocities, in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosovo.
Also to educate people about the dangers of racism and all forms of discrimination.

How is this event relevant to the British public?

It focuses on individuals’ experiences from the Holocaust – and other more recent atrocities that raise similar issues – to raise awareness of what happened.
It will provoke people to think about the world around them and their own behaviour and that of others.
It will confront people about the labels they place on themselves and others (i.e. young, old, teacher, lawyer, father, daughter, black, Muslim). Think about how we are linked to others through identities we share, and how isolating one part of who a person is can make them the victim of discrimination and prejudice.
It will challenge the misconception that such events could never happen again.

How is it remembered in Southampton?

The Memorial Day Committee, in conjunction with Southampton Solent University and the Parkes Institute, are hosting a commemorative event at the Sir James Matthews Building, opposite the Guildhall, 6pm on Saturday, January 27.
Memories of persecution from a refugee from Nazi Germany will be followed by an excerpt from an interview recorded in Southampton in 1974 with interfaith pioneer the Rev Dr James Parkes. The event will conclude with a short dramatic piece about refugees and prejudice in the modern world. For details contact Andy Marshall on tel: 023 8031 9819, Andy.marshall@solent.ac.uk