Last week, on Thursday 27 January, it was Holocaust memorial day. This day marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. During last week’s assembly (now on our Assemblies webpage), Mr Johnson spoke about the Holocaust as well as genocide throughout history. This is a sensitive topic yet one which carries some important messages for our pupils to hear.
The theme for this year was ‘One Day’. ‘One Day’ looks at the memorial day itself, and the importance of the key messages that still need to be delivered, 77 years after the horrendous event. There has been a focus on how the ‘One Day’ could be the ‘One Day’ when life changed for many individuals. Survivors of the Holocaust and of other genocides often talk about the One Day when everything changed, sometimes for the worse and sometimes for better. We also looked at ‘One Day’ in the future. Those who were targeted and persecuted held out for the ‘One Day’ in the future when all their suffering would be over, hoping they would all see the day of liberation and freedom.
On Holocaust Memorial Day we learn from genocide for a purpose – to build a better future, when we look ahead to ‘one day with no genocide’.
