Holocaust Memorial Day takes place every year on 27 January. This year, the theme is ‘one day’.
The theme, which is open to interpretation, encourages participants and events to focus on one day in history to learn more about, or one day when life changed for a Holocaust survivor. It also offers one day to set aside to remember the past and to create a world that will one day be free from fascism, genocide and the politics of hate. In the words of the organisers:
“One day is just a snapshot in time and therefore cannot give the full picture, the context, the background that is needed, but it can help bring a piece of the full picture to life.
“The age or gender of the victim, or their geographical location ensured that no one day during the genocide was typical. The same date would be experienced very differently by Jews hiding in France, Jews incarcerated in Auschwitz, Jews awaiting their fate in Hungary, for example.
“For those who suffered for days, weeks, months, years focussing on just One Day is a starting point, a way in for us to learn more about what happened during the Holocaust and the genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.”
Click here to find out more about this year’s theme
The Holocaust Memorial Trust has also produced free guides and resources to help your UNISON branch organise events and activities, including guides and advice on marking the day which are specifically tailored for trade unions and workplaces.
Access a range of resources and order free activity packs
No matter the scale of your event or activity, the trust would love to learn more about how your workplace or UNISON branch commemorates the day. Whether your activity is private or open to the public, let them know at hmd.org.uk/node/add/events
Furthermore, as part of the activity around Holocaust Memorial Day 2022, UNISON will be highlighting the work of Generation 2 Generation (G2G), a charity that provides speakers to tell their family Holocaust stories online or face-to-face to a variety of audiences.
G2G works to ensure the lessons of the Holocaust are learned and promotes tolerance of all groups in society through engaging, historically accurate presentations which integrate first-hand survivor testimony.
Find out more at the G2G website
To book a G2G speaker, click here
or email: bookings@generation2generation.org.uk
