Stephen Morgan MP this week signed the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment, in doing so pledging his commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and honouring those who were murdered during the Holocaust.
Mr Morgan also paid tribute to the victims of all other forms of genocide throughout history, highlighting the devastating consequences of intolerance and discrimination in society.
Holocaust Memorial Day falls on 27th January every year, the anniversary of the liberation of the infamous former Nazi concentration and death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, in 1945.
In the lead up to and on Holocaust Memorial Day, thousands of commemorative events will be arranged by schools, faith groups and community organisations across the country, remembering all the victims of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides.
The theme for this year’s commemorations is ‘Fragility of Freedom’.
On Holocaust Memorial Day we also remember and pay tribute to all of those persecuted by the Nazis, including Roma and Sinti people, disabled people, gay men, political opponents to the Nazis and others. We also remember all of those affected by genocide since, in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
Commenting, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“Holocaust Memorial Day is an important opportunity for Portsmouth people to reflect on the darkest times of European history and recommit our unwavering stance against genocide in all its forms.
“Today, I pledge to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered in the Holocaust and speak out against all forms of antisemitism, which in recent months has risen exponentially and which needs to be tackled head on.
“The theme ‘Fragility of Freedom’ is particularly pertinent this year and reminds us that we must continue doing all we can to tackle hate in our society in all its forms.”
Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said:
“On Holocaust Memorial Day, we remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, and we honour those who survived.
“When the concentration camps of Europe were liberated, the reality of the Nazi attempt to eradicate world Jewry became clear. In newspapers, cinema and radio broadcasts the atrocities were laid bare. The phrase ‘Never Again’ was coined, reflecting the hope that the Holocaust would forever represent the ultimate result of anti-Jewish hatred; a warning signal for generations to come of where unchecked antisemitism could lead.
“This Holocaust Memorial Day, as antisemitism once again sweeps across the globe, it is more important than ever to remember the six million Jewish victims and remind ourselves that anti-Jewish racism did not begin nor end with the Holocaust.”
