Today is Holocaust Memorial Day and the national event in London will bring together survivors from the Holocaust and subsequent genocides, politicians, religious leaders and dignitaries.  In addition hundreds of local events will be held across the UK giving everyone the opportunity to get involved in some way.

The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust took over responsibility for delivering HMD from the Home Office in 2005 and six years on our aims remain the same as they did then – to ensure that we remember the victims and honour the survivors of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution and those from subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and during the ongoing atrocities in Darfur.

This year’s theme

This year’s theme for HMD is Untold Stories and builds on the success of HMD 2010 which focused on The Legacy of Hope. In 2010 tens of thousands of people signed up and pledged to become part of this ‘legacy’, ensuring that the experiences of Holocaust and genocide survivors were never forgotten, and that we can all learn from the lessons of the past.

The Untold Stories theme ensures that these pledges become a reality. This year we have focused on listening to stories of suffering, persecution, but also hope.  Importantly we heard many stories that have never been told before. Already we’ve lost millions of stories through acts of hatred and this year’s theme sends out a clear message that we cannot allow this to continue. Just some of the Untold Stories that we’ve heard can be seen in our film:

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

Working with young people

Reaching out to new audiences, and particularly young people is a crucial part of what we do.  Since 2005, we’ve been working closely with schools and other youth organisations, providing a wide range of materials suitable for all age ranges and a wide range of subjects.  This year, for the first time, we worked in partnership with the British Youth Council to create a new generation of local event orgnanisers – our advocates of the future.  On 23 January, 150 young people in York came together to discover Untold Stories and hear about Holocaust Memorial Day and to learn how they can take action in their own communities.

The challenge ahead

These are challenging times for everyone, but despite the current economic climate and the budget constraints which many of our event organisers face, hundreds of events to mark HMD 20111 have taken place this week.

Sadly the bigger challenge we face is that, as time goes on, the number of Holocaust survivors diminishes.  We must all ensure that their experiences and memories are never forgotten and that we remember their Untold Stories.

Please do take a look at the Holocaust Memorial Day website and discover more about survivors’ Untold Stories and help us by lighting this year’s virtual candle: www.hmd.org.uk

Carly Whyborn is Chief Executive Officer, Holocaust Memorial Day Trust

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