Manchester will be marking Holocaust Memorial Day with a number of events
Manchester youngster are set to learn about the horrific atrocities suffered by Jewish people across Europe during World War II.Local high school pupils will be attending a special event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on Wednesday 27 January 2016 at the Manchester arts centre HOME. The event will include the screening of four short films from across Europe exploring the human cost of the holocaust.
This special event is organised by Manchester City Council and UK Jewish Film.
The Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Paul Murphy OBE will introduce the event and guest speaker Rachel Burn, UK Jewish Film’s Education Manager, will present the films.
Each film will reflect the theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day – ‘Don’t stand by’.
The theme has been chosen to remind us all that the Holocaust and subsequent genocides took place because the local populations allowed persecution to take root. While some actively supported state policies the vast majority stood silent – afraid to speak out. Bystanders enabled the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and subsequent genocides.
Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Paul Murphy OBE, said: “Holocaust Memorial Day is a time for us all to remember the victims of one of the worst atrocities every suffered by humanity.
“It is vital that we educate young people about the horrors of the past – despite the difficulty of contemplating and discussing one of the darkest parts of our history. It is essential we understand our past so we can make sure a tragedy of this scale is never repeated.”
Greater Manchester Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd and his Deputy PCC Jim Battle join local people and faith and civic leaders to remember the Holocaust.
Other events are taking place this week, including a memorial at Greater Manchester Police Headquarters, and a memorial event in Radcliffe led by the Mayor of Bury.
Tony Lloyd will also be speaking at an exhibition and commemorative event taking place at Salford school Albion Academy, hosted by Salford City Council in partnership with the local Jewish community.
Tony said: “The Holocaust saw humanity at its worst and showed the world just how dangerous an ideology can be; how quickly and easily people can turn on each other in the most terrible of ways.
“It’s important to remember what happened, how and why, so that the passage of time does not dull the full extent of what took place, and that we make sure that such atrocities are never allowed to happen again.
“Remembering the Holocaust should not just be viewed as an opportunity for Jewish people to remember their loved ones, it’s an important opportunity for us all – people across the world of all faiths and none – to remind ourselves not to let bigotry and fascism win over tolerance and equality.
“We mustn’t let fear cloud our humanity, nor let hatred destroy what unites us. For the victims of the Holocaust, let theirs be a legacy of peace.”
The films being shown at HOME are:
Call Her Lotte [German] – Set in 1930s Munich, a film drama about the power of friendship between two young women Maria and Lea. In the wake of the dictatorship of Hitler and the Nazis, their friendship is stronger than the terror and the fear.
One Day Crossing [Hungarian] – Set in Hungary in 1944, this film tells the story of a Jewish family pretending to be Christian in order to survive the brutality of the Nazi collaborators the Arrow Cross.
Pigeon [English] – Set in Remies, France in 1941 and based on a true story of courage the film is set on a train station where a Jewish man with false identity papers waits for a train.
Silence [English] – An animated film about the story of survivor Tana Ross, a child survivor of Theresienstadt (Terezin) who, hidden by her grandmother during the war, escaped Auschwitz.
