Holocaust Memorial Day
27th January 2024
The Fragility of Freedom - Holocaust Memorial Day 2024.
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"That is when the trouble started for the Jews. Our freedom was severely restricted by a series of anti-Jewish decrees."
– Anne Frank, diary entry, Saturday 20 June, 1942 – reflecting back on
May 1940 when the Germans arrived in the Netherlands
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Freedom means different things to different people. What is clear is that in every genocide that has taken place, those who are targeted for persecution have had their freedom restricted and removed, before many of them are murdered.
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Not only do perpetrator regimes erode the freedom of the people they are targeting, demonstrating how fragile freedom is, they also restrict the freedoms of others around them, to prevent people from challenging the regime. Despite this, in every genocide there are those who risk their own freedom to help others, to preserve others’ freedom or to stand up to the regime.
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Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. 49 years after the Holocaust ended, 19 years after the genocide in Cambodia, the world stood by as Hutu extremists shattered the fragile freedom in Rwanda, following decades of tension and violence, culminating in the murder of over one million Tutsis in just one hundred days.
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The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) encourages remembrance in a world scarred by genocide.
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27 January is the date of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on 27 January to remember the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of people murdered under Nazi persecution of other groups and during more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
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Light the Darkness. On January 27th at 8pm, people across the UK are invited to light a candle and place it safely in their windows to remember those who were murdered for who they were and to stand against prejudice and hatred today.
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At Oakham Castle, on 27th Jan we will have some information on display that detail peoples’ stories about the One Day everything changed. Also, on Holocaust Memorial Day there will be recipe cards from communities that have been targeted by genocide. These will be available to take away and try at home.
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