Sunderland MP pays tribute ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day

A Sunderland MP has signed the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment ahead of  Holocaust Memorial Day.

Sunderland and Washington West MP Sharon Hodgson honoured those who were  murdered during the Holocaust, and paid tribute to the extraordinary survivors who  work tirelessly to educate young people today. 

Holocaust Memorial Day falls on January 27 every year, the anniversary of the liberation of the  infamous former Nazi concentration and death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, in 1945.

Across the UK – and world – people will come together to remember the horrors of the past.  

Mrs Hodgson said: “Holocaust Memorial Day is an important opportunity for people from across the North East to reflect  on the darkest times of European history.

"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.” 

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.” 

In the lead up to and on Holocaust Memorial Day, thousands of commemorative events were  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’. 

Also remembered are all of those persecuted by the  Nazis, including Roma and Sinti people, disabled people, gay men, political opponents to the Nazis  and others.

The day also honours those killed by genocide since, including in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia  and Darfur.