Every year UNISON marks Holocaust Memorial Day, which takes place on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentration and death camp.
We remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust alongside the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution, including Roma and Sinti people, disabled people, LGBT+ people, Black people, trade unionists and political opponents of the Nazis.
We also remember and commemorate the victims of more recent genocides. This year is the 30thanniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
Each year, Holocaust Memorial Day has a specific theme, which for 2024 is The Fragility of Freedom.
This year, we reflect on the fragility of the rights of targeted and scapegoated people; how freedom can be eroded with violent rhetoric, demagoguery and conspiracist ideas. By recognising the fragility of human life and civil norms, it charges us as trade unionists to continue our struggle for freedom.
We recommit, as a trade union, to bring our collective efforts to bear to challenge antisemitism, intolerance and the politics of division and hate.
The Holocaust Memorial Trust has produced free guides and resources to help your workplace or UNISON branch organise events and activities around this theme.
The trust has also created guides to getting involved that feature tailored advice to support trade unions and workplaces organising activities to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
To find out more, access a wide range of resources and order free activity packs, visit the trust’s website.
No matter the scale of your event or activity, the trust would welcome learning about how your workplace or UNISON branch commemorates the day. Whether your activity is private or open to the public, you can let them know here.
The Holocaust Education Trust also offers guidance notes and suggested readings which you can access here.
UNISON also supports 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.
Through these engaging and historically accurate presentations, integrating first-hand survivor testimony, G2G works to ensure the lessons of the Holocaust are learned, promoting tolerance of all groups in society.
You can find out more about this important work and vital survivor testimonies here.