The Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) remembers the millions who were brutally murdered during WW2. HMD is a UK remembrance day, and has existed since 2001. Each year there is a theme, with a strong focus on remembrance and learning from the past. The Holocaust Memorial Day also pays tribute to those who died in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
How to mark Holocaust Memorial Day
Each year thousands of activities take place for HMD, bringing people from all backgrounds together to learn lessons from the past.
Activities are organised from schools to libraries, workplaces and local authorities.
Since 2005, HMD has been supported by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) – a government funded charity.
If you’re not sure how you want to mark the day, the HMDT has provided a search engine where you can find activities near you.
You can access the page HERE.
HMD activities offer a real opportunity to honour the experiences of people affected by the Holocaust and genocide, and challenge ourselves to work for a safer, better future, the HMD Trust said.
In 2016, nearly 6,000 HMD activities took place across the UK.
What is this year’s theme?
“Torn from home” is the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2019.
The campaign encourages people to reflect on how the enforced loss of a safe place to call “home” is part of the trauma faced by anyone experiencing persecution and genocide, according to the HMD Trust.
The trust writes: “On HMD 2019 we will reflect on what happens when individuals, families and communities are driven out of, or wrenched from their homes, because of persecution or the threat of genocide, alongside the continuing difficulties survivors face as they try to find and build new homes when the genocide is over.
In addition to remember the slaughter during WW2, this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day will include marking the 25th anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda, which began in April 1994 and the 40th anniversary of the end of the Genocide in Cambodia, which ended in 1979.
HMD activity organisers may particularly want to acknowledge this milestone anniversary, and reflect on how this theme impacts on members of the Rwandan and Cambodian communities.
The HMD Trust chooses the annual theme to provide those preparing Holocaust Memorial Day events with fresh ideas for interesting and inspiring commemorations.
Each theme relates to the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and the subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.