This week across the school we marked Holocaust Memorial Day, with a range of activities to promote education and awareness of genocide.
This week across the school we marked Holocaust Memorial Day, which is held on Friday 27th January, the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The theme for this year is ‘Ordinary People’, highlighting the ordinary people who let genocide happen, the ordinary people who actively perpetrated genocide, and the ordinary people who were persecuted. The theme encourages all of us to think about how we can play an important part in challenging prejudice.
In the Senior School and Sixth Form, there was a wide range of activities for students and staff to be involved in throughout the week.
On Thursday lunchtime, we welcomed Rabbi Roderick Young to speak to our students about the Holocaust. He shared some reflections on the theme of ‘ordinary people’, highlighting the personal stories of Holocaust survivors – ordinary people thrown into appalling and extraordinary situations. Rabbi Young also emphasised the importance of education in combating ignorance and it was brilliant to hear him answer some insightful questions from our students.
Other events included a screening of the film Schindler’s List and a Holocaust Memorial Day exhibition in the Sixth Form lecture theatre, which was available for classes and individuals to visit throughout the week.
On Friday, Mr Emerson-Moering led a whole school assembly to official mark Holocaust Memorial Day. The school stood together to hear the Stockholm Declaration, a declaration committed to preserving the memory of those who have been murdered in the Holocaust.
Students and staff were also encouraged to take part in wider activities happening during the week, including a nationwide HMD memorial service on Thursday and the ‘Light the Darkness’ initiative on Friday. There was also a specific Holocaust Memorial Google Classroom available, full of links and activities for students and staff.
