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Holocaust Memorial Day has been commemorated each year on 27 January since 2001. The day honours the memory of the millions who lost their lives in the Holocaust as a result of persecution by the Nazis, as well as those who were murdered in the genocides that followed in countries such as Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur. More recently this has included the Rohingya genocide, which is a series of ongoing persecutions and killings of the Muslim Rohingya people, perpetrated by the Burmese military in Myanmar. 

27 January 1945 saw the liberation by Russian troops of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp in Poland, where a countless number of Jewish, Roma, Sinti, LGBTQ+ and disabled people, as well as political and war prisoners, were murdered in unimaginably cruel ways.

The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2022 is ‘One Day’. This theme can be interpreted in a number of ways. For example, it encourages people to reflect on and learn about ‘One Day’ in history where people’s lives changed due to the Holocaust, and it is also for people to come together on this ‘One Day’ to remember. You can find out more information about the theme on the .

Professor Gil Pasternak, Chair of Photographic Cultures and Heritage at ÐßÐßÊÓƵ, said: “The day that changed my grandparents’ lives when WWII started defined the rest of their existence, and its tragic consequences continue to dominate the experiences of everyone in my family to this day.

“The memory of the Holocaust may be fading away now that more and more survivors gradually pass on. But because all genocides are always attacks against culture and civilisation, they never cease to damage the whole essence of humanity, regardless of the identity of one people or another.

“The resurgence of xenophobia, nationalism and nativism that we see these days all around the world, coupled with the staggering rise of hate crimes against Muslims and Jews in particular, makes it very clear that remaining indifferent to this reality will sooner or later leave no person unaffected.”

Further context – religious hate crime in the UK today

There has been a significant rise in religious hate crime in the United Kingdom in recent years, which has been steadily growing year by year. The official on hate crime in England and Wales states: “In year ending March 2021, where the perceived religion of the victim was recorded, just under half (45%) of religious hate crime offences were targeted against Muslims (2,703 offences). The next most commonly targeted group were Jewish people, who were targeted in 22 per cent of religious hate crimes (1,288 offences).”

Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration – Leicester New Walk Museum

On Sunday 30 January between noon and 4pm, Leicester Museum & Art Gallery (53 New Walk, Leicester) will be hosting a free drop-in event to commemorate those killed in the Holocaust and recent genocides.

The event will feature readings from survivors’ testimonies and lost family members’ accounts; a Wiener Library exhibition; two films illustrating events that affected the Jewish community in Greece and Prague, with oud accompaniment; and a workshop offering the chance to create your own message or image for inclusion in the new National Holocaust Memorial.

Holocaust Memorial Day talk recording by Professor Aubrey Newman

You can view a recording, created in conjunction with ÐßÐßÊÓƵ partner Leicester City Council, of the by Professor Aubrey Newman, Emeritus Professor of History: The Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Leicester.