Holocaust Memorial Events To Be Held In Sussex

Holocaust memorial events will be held in Sussex today and tomorrow.

On Friday 27 January, Burgess Hill Town Council will be holding a service at the War Memorial Gardens, for Holocaust Memorial Day. Members of the local community are invited to join the service, beginning at 10am, which will follow the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s theme of ‘Ordinary People’.

January 27 marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. The service will be held in the memory of all those killed in the Holocaust, as well as genocides which took place in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. The theme of ‘Ordinary People’ seeks to highlight the ordinary people who allowed genocide to be perpetrated, as well as to remember the ordinary people who were persecuted.

The service will be multi-faith and include speakers from Amnesty International, Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue, Burgess Hill Mosque, St John the Evangelist, Burgess Hill Girls and Burgess Hill Academy. Following the memorial service, there will be a stone laying, by representatives from Burgess Hill Girls and Burgess Hill Academy – a symbol of remembrance.
 
Irene Balls, Amnesty International said:

“As a community and as individuals our presence in this act of remembrance encourages us to become involved in creating a better future for a world that has been scarred by genocide. We can determine in our own lives to challenge prejudice and the language of hatred.    We can be inspired to uphold and defend human rights.”

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Hastings will host its annual Holocaust Memorial Day service at 11am on Saturday 28 January. This year the event will be held at the White Rock Theatre, Hastings, on Hastings seafront opposite the pier, because of the closure of St Mary in the Castle. It is also the first time the service has been organised as a ‘physical’ event since 2020 because of the pandemic. The service is organised by Dr Shelley Katz with the support of Hastings Borough Council.

This year’s service will have as its theme ‘Ordinary People’. It will include the Acromax Performance Group, the St Richard’s Catholic College choir and dancers, and the Bader College Chamber Choir from BISC (Queens University – Canada).

The service is open to everyone, and admission is free. 

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The council is supporting the Brighton & Hove Holocaust Education Project in commemorating the day, with an event held at the council chambers in Hove Town Hall today (Jan 27).

The commemoration will be ‘hybrid event’, containing new video footage by Latest TV their live coverage.

The event is open to everyone by watching Latest TV or click on the Latest TV website to access the live stream, and includes an original dance performance from students from Brighton & Hove High School.

Participants include members of the Brighton & Hove Jewish community, the Mayor of Brighton & Hove Councillor Lizzie Deane, councillors, the city’s three MPs city councillors and special guests.

Councillor Steph Powell, joint chair of the Tourism, Equalities, Communities & Culture Committee, said:

“On Holocaust Memorial Day, we stand with our communities to remember the 6 million Jews, and the 10s of thousands of disabled people, LGBTQ+ people, those from the Roma & Gypsy communities, political prisoners, religious figures and many others murdered during the Holocaust, and all those killed under Nazi persecution and occupation.

“We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with all our diverse communities and continue to say ‘never again’.

“Holocaust Memorial Day is a day to remember, to learn about the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and those murdered in genocides since, such as those in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

“This year’s theme focuses on the role every ordinary person can play in joining the call and hoping there may be one day in the future with no genocide.

“Quoting the theme, genocide is facilitated by ordinary people. Ordinary people turn a blind eye, believe propaganda, join murderous regimes. And those who are persecuted, oppressed and murdered in genocide aren’t persecuted because of crimes they’ve committed – they are persecuted simply because they are ordinary people who belong to a particular group

“Ordinary people were involved in all aspects of the Holocaust, Nazi persecution of other groups, and in the genocides that took place in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. Ordinary people were perpetrators, bystanders, rescuers, witnesses – and ordinary people were victims.

“And, as ordinary people, it’s up to all of us to remember. The holocaust must never be forgotten, nor must it ever be repeated.

“We must all learn the lessons from the past, and how harmful prejudice and discrimination is.

“We do not tolerate hate in our city, and we support all of our diverse communities, including our faith, BME, LGBT+ and disabled communities.

“We continue to work collaboratively with our community groups bringing people together, building tolerance and standing against hate wherever we find it.”

Find out more on the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website.