Latest news with #HolocaustMemorialDayTrust
The Herald Scotland
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Holocaust education pleas as far-right on rise across Europe
And with the far-right on the march across the continent, leading charities are scrambling to preserve the stories and memories of the 220,000 Holocaust survivors who are still alive. Laura Marks is the chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. The 65-year old is a keen campaigner for interfaith activism and has worked to improve relations between Jewish and Muslim communities. We spoke last Tuesday, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. Marks has just come from meeting with a group of Holocaust survivors when she picks up the phone. She has a lot on her mind. Laura Marks is chair of the Holocaust Memorial Trust (Image: Yakir Zur) 'How will we keep the interest in and the relevance of the Holocaust alive as the people with first hand knowledge fade away,' she wonders. 'There's precious few left. 'It's a very important question. How do you continue telling their stories and how do you tell people about the Holocaust without those stories?' Marks believes that personal testimony is at the heart of remembering. 'You can be sat with a textbook full of facts and figures', says Marks. 'That is absolutely essential, but it isn't enough. You need to tell the stories, because the stories make you understand and feel it in your gut, as well as your head. 'We have a duty to remember the six million Jewish men, women, and children who were murdered by the Nazis, and the Roma-Sinti, and the people who were disabled and the people who were black, but we also need to ensure that this does not happen again.' Martin Winstone, senior historical advisor to the Holocaust Education Trust, agrees. He remarks that despite units on the Holocaust not being mandated in the Scottish curriculum, Holyrood has been very supportive of the Trust's work. Winstone says: 'There's always more that can be done, but I do feel that Scotland has a very strong Holocaust education infrastructure. 'Successive Scottish governments, both Labour and SNP, have invested a lot into Holocaust education. For example, they fund the Lessons from Auschwitz programme, which we run, and Vision Schools Scotland, which supports teachers.' Read more from Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco Will artificial intelligence prove a boost for the Scots leid – or a curse? 'Archaic and absurd': Lord Gove's new title slammed by Aberdeen residents It's time for the peerage system to go the way of the shilling Does Glasgow need a 'rat tsar' to crackdown on city rodent problem? Education is key, Winstone and Marks tell me. Marks says: 'It's not just children who need to be educated, it's adults too. Children get a certain amount of education about the Holocaust in school, but there's a whole generation of adults who learned nothing at school. 'It's so easy to move from hate speech into intolerance into separating people out — the stages of genocide are the same again and again and again, and our job is to ensure that those stages aren't gone through. 'You have to go a long way down the line until you get to Dachau, and yet it happened.' Winstone adds: 'It is a societal issue. Education has a role to play. I think that sometimes people think that if we just teach people about the Holocaust, anti-Semitism will be solved. I don't think it will. 'Anti-Semitism is a societal problem, so schools have some role to play in it, but they should not be expected to be the whole solution. 'It's not necessarily in history lessons where those difficult conversations will necessarily take place. It might be in religious and moral education, it might be in modern studies, it might be in tutor time.' More than six million Jews were killed between 1939-1945 (Image: Newsquest) Sarah Mathieson is a former young ambassador for the Holocaust Education Trust during high school. Now about to graduate university, Mathieson says many of her fellow students only had superficial knowledge of the genocide. She told The Herald: 'Most people knew what had happened during the Holocaust but had this idea that it was a one off thing. Many had no idea of subsequent events such as the Rwandan genocide and a lot of people I think assumed it happened suddenly. 'The teaching we gave was a lot about everyday prejudice and discrimination and how if left unchecked it can grow and cause widespread harm and I think that was something new that a lot of those who attended took away with them.' Indeed, a quick vox pop of university students in Glasgow revealed a troubling lack of knowledge about the topic. One student said: 'It wasn't delved into in much detail at my school. I feel like there could have been a lot more education about the Holocaust when I was in primary and secondary school.' A woman doing exam preparations said: 'I think it was a pretty big part of history, plus, I suppose, British history. It's important to know about it so it doesn't happen again.' Her study companion added: 'It's definitely important to know about it, because of all of the stuff around the history, like how big Krakow is to visit.' Innovative technology and digital recordings are some ways to educate the next generation of students, Marc Cave notes. Cave is the director of the National Holocaust Centre and Museum and has helped develop the museum's 'Forever Project'. The project, which draws upon real testimony from eleven Holocaust survivors, uses voice recognition and AI-assisted technology to create digital question and answer sessions. Cave explains: 'We initially developed the programme in 2016, and this is the Mark III version. It uses AI to create a back and forth conversation, just as if you were talking to a grandparent. 'The survivors, who represent all aspects of the Holocaust, from concentration camps to the Kindertransports to hidden children, recorded testimony for hours. Many of them have become dear friends in the thirty years since the museum was founded.' Marc Cave runs the National Holocaust Centre and Museum (Image: Supplied)Winstone adds: 'There are a lot of survivors who go and speak across the UK but sadly we know that time is limited. Recordings in different forms will be a part of that, but again, it comes back to the classroom. 'Teachers must be trained and equipped with the right resources. There's no single solution which will replace the survivors.' Marks, who has spent her much of her adult life working with Holocaust charities, takes a moment for reflection. She notes: 'I went to Dachau for the first time 50 years ago, when I was a teenager. It was the first time I had been involved in any of this. 'At the time, survivors didn't talk about it. It's only been the last 20 years survivors have talked about the Holocaust at all, and all those years, there was so much shame and guilt and feeling that nobody cared. 'We're trying to make up for lost time.'
BBC News
26-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Brighton Holocaust memorial synagogue granted listed status
An East Sussex synagogue which also stands as a Holocaust memorial has been granted Grade II listed and Hove Reform Synagogue was granted the status in recognition of its unique stained glass follows a campaign by The Twentieth Century Society to protect the building in Palmeira Avenue, Croft, director of the society, said the synagogue had "outstanding cultural significance" and "major communal value as a Holocaust memorial and as a social and spiritual centre". Built in 1966 and 1967, the synagogue's 40ft (12.2m) stained glass windows were designed by John Petts, and described by art historian Dr Alison Smith as "one of the great religious artworks of the 20th Century".A spokesperson for the society said the windows features an "iconographic programme expressing the historic persecution of jews" and is made up of 1,800 pieces of coloured glass.A foundation stone in the foyer of the building is dedicated to victims of the Holocaust "in honour of the dead, as a warning to the living".Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: "This is far more than a building; it's a place of memory, of community and of profound emotional significance."In protecting this space, we're also safeguarding the stories, the lives and the lessons it holds."We hope it will inspire further protection of places that bear witness to Jewish heritage, resilience, and remembrance."
The Independent
23-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Jimmy Carr says he subscribes to the ‘benign violation' theory of comedy
Jimmy Carr has defended some of his more controversial jokes from critics who said he goes too far. The British comedian, 52, has sparked uproar on a number of occasions with gags about highly sensitive subjects. In 2022, he was widely criticised for a joke that featured in one of his Netflix comedy specials about the murder of thousands of travellers during the Holocaust. In a new interview alongside fellow comics Roisin Conaty and Lou Sanders, Carr defended his approach to comedy by saying he subscribes to the 'benign violation theory'. 'Intention is important,' he told The Sunday Times. 'With me, it's clear what the intention of the evening is. But the way it can get reported is as if you're shouting jokes through someone's letterbox at 9am. I subscribe to the benign violation theory — that jokes are benign violations. You take a violation, no matter how extreme, but make it benign by joking about it. 'Jokes can be a way to make sense of stuff,' he continued. 'Think about how we use humour in our lives when something terrible happens, never mind on stage. There is a lot of laughter around grief, death and disease. There's a real functionality to it. It makes something OK.' In a widely shared clip of the stand-up show His Dark Material – which arrived on Netflix on Christmas Day in 2022 – the comedian told the audience: 'Strap in everyone, you ready?' 'When people talk about the Holocaust,' he continued, 'they talk about the tragedy and horror of six million Jewish lives being lost to the Nazi war machine. But they never mention the thousands of gypsies that were killed by the Nazis. 'No one ever talks about that because no one wants to talk,' he said, 'about the positives.' The gag prompted several MPs, along with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, to criticise Carr and call on Netflix to remove the special from its platform. Meanwhile, Carr's close friend David Baddiel called the joke 'indefensible' and 'mean-spirited'. 'You can obviously tell a Holocaust joke that is cruel and inhumane and mean-spirited and racist,' he told his followers. 'Or you can tell one that targets the oppressors, or draws attention to the fundamental evil of it, or shines a light on the humanity of the victims.' Carr acknowledged in his interview with the Sunday Times that he was 'slightly playing with fire' but 'you don't choose you're sense of humour, it chooses you. It's like sexual taste… some like it spicy, others prefer milder stuff.' The first four episodes of Carr's new show, Last One Laughing, were released this week on Prime Video, ahead of his next tour, Laughs Funny, which launches in the UK from 26 November.
Sky News
27-01-2025
- General
- Sky News
Kate hugs Holocaust survivors as King warns of 'dangerous re-emergence of antisemitism'
The Princess of Wales hugged and held hands with Holocaust survivors at an official commemoration to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Kate and her husband the Prince of Wales said their attendance at the event at Guildhall in central London was "a great honour" on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Meanwhile, the King warned of the "dangerous re-emergence of antisemitism" as he also met with Holocaust survivors during a visit to the Jewish Community Centre of Krakow - which he opened in 2008. 4:11 King Charles said Holocaust Memorial Day "is a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish". The King then joined survivors and other dignitaries at Auschwitz, marking the first time that a serving British monarch has visited the concentration camp where more than a million people were murdered at the hands of the Nazi regime. Before he laid a candle as the UK's representative at the ceremony in Poland, three Holocaust survivors shared their stories. Tova Friedman explained her traumatic experiences left her feeling it was "normal" that "as a Jewish child they all had to die". Janina Iwanska also said: "It is difficult to calculate all the people killed here." Kate, William and PM pay respects At the memorial event at Guildhall in London, Kate told Olivia Marks-Woldman, the chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the commemorations are "so important," and added: "It is great to be here today with my husband." In a short speech, William said attending the event at Guildhall was "a great honour". "I am honoured to join you today to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and to remember the millions murdered during the Holocaust and in subsequent genocides," he said. "We also remember those survivors who have lived with scars, both mental and physical. "Their bravery, in sharing with us the most harrowing moments of their lives, is extremely powerful and ensures that we never forget. I assure them we never will." The prince also read an extract from the book Holocaust Heroes, which references the efforts made by his great-grandmother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, to help a Jewish family in need during the Second World War. In his own speech at the Guildhall event, Sir Keir Starmer said the Holocaust was a "collective endeavour" by ordinary people "consumed by the hatred of difference". The prime minister said: "As we remember, we must also act. Because we say never again, but where was never again in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur, or the acts of genocide against Yazidi? "Today, we have to make those words mean more. So we will make Holocaust education a truly national endeavour." Heightened security at London event shows lessons still to be learnt Lisa Holland Communities correspondent @LisaatSky Survivors lit candles and gave their own moving testimonies at the London commemorations of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. The London Youth Chamber Choir performed Even When He Is Silent - remembering six million lost Jewish voices. The Prince of Wales spoke about remembering not only survivors but also recalled those who risked their own lives to protect those fleeing - which included his great-grandmother Alice who gave refuge to a Jewish widow and her children in Athens. The message of the ceremony to the congregation and beyond at a time of growing fears over anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish sentiment - to light candles of their own and stand against prejudice and hatred. Candles to light the darkness 'for a better future'. But the heightened security ahead of and at the venue at a time of continuing conflict in the world tells us lessons are still to be learnt on this 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. 'Remembering the evils of the past remains vital' Speaking in Krakow earlier on Monday, the King said: "In a world that remains full of turmoil and strife, and has witnessed the dangerous re-emergence of antisemitism, there can be no more important message. "As the number of Holocaust survivors regrettably diminishes with the passage of time, the responsibility of remembrance rests far heavier on our shoulders and on those of generations yet unborn. "The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task, and in so doing, we inform our present and shape our future. "Here in Krakow, from the ashes of the Holocaust, the Jewish community has been reborn." The King went on to say there is "no greater symbol" of that rebirth than the centre he was speaking at. "In a post-Holocaust world, projects such as this, this centre, is how we recover our faith in humanity," he said. "They also show us there is much work still to be done," he said, adding that it's important not just to remember the past, "but to use it to inspire us to build a kinder and more compassionate world for future generations". "This remains the sacred task of us all," he added. Later, the King joined world leaders like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Auschwitz, as those who lived through the Holocaust shared their stories of survival. King's poignant journey to Auschwitz a display of his lifelong commitment to Holocaust survivors Royal correspondent @SkyRhiannon The King had a clear purpose as he made his first visit to Auschwitz. Remembrance - but also the high cost of forgetting. It was right at the heart of a speech he gave at a Jewish community centre in Krakow, which he opened in 2008; a reminder of his enduring work to champion religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue, ever mindful of what he can do with his global profile. In the auditorium at Auschwitz, he was one of the most recognisable attendees. But as is so often the case with the Royal Family, his intention was to use his presence to draw even greater attention to those who really matter, the survivors. The Holocaust Educational Trust described his attendance as elevating the event on a global stage, a signal to the world of its significance. It was a display of his lifelong commitment to humanise and give a voice to those who 80 years ago were so savagely dehumanised at the hands of the Nazis. 'I remember watching children driven to their deaths' Survivor Janina Iwanska said that while the camp was originally for political prisoners, in March 1942, "the operators of the camp started building gas chambers and the crematorium". "It was no longer a POW camp, a Soviet camp - this is when the killing machine started its operation," she added. "It is difficult to calculate all the people killed here." Fellow survivor Tova Friedman also told those in attendance: "I remember as a five-year-old child watching from my hiding place as all my little friends were rounded up and driven to their deaths while the heartbreaking cries of their parents fell on deaf ears. "After all the children were gone and the courtyard was empty - I thought 'am I the only Jewish child left in the world?'" She recalled that while held in Auschwitz, she "was being beaten mercilessly by a guard for fidgeting" after "not being able to stand still for hours," as she looked into her mother's eyes. "She was pleading with me 'don't cry'. And I didn't. At five I had the rebellion in me that I would not let them know the pain they are inflicting on me," Ms Friedman added. 2:15 More than a million people were murdered at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp during the Second World War, most of whom were Jews but also Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war and other nationalities. Six million Jewish men, women and children died during the Holocaust. 3:31 Commemorations at the former death camp began earlier when Poland's President Andrzej Duda joined Auschwitz survivors laying wreaths and candles at the site. Their tributes were left at a reconstruction of the Death Wall, the site where several thousand people, mainly Polish political prisoners, were executed. In a speech, Mr Duda said "we Poles are the guardians of memory today" and had a duty to maintain the life stories of the survivors.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Kate hugs Holocaust survivors at remembrance event in London
The Princess of Wales hugged and held hands with Holocaust survivors as she attended official commemorations to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Kate joined her husband the Prince of Wales, who described their attendance as 'a great honour', at Guildhall in central London on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The annual event remembers the six million Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust, as well as the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution and those who died in subsequent genocides. William, wearing a navy suit and blue tie, and Kate, wearing all black, were greeted on arrival by Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, and its chairwoman of trustees Laura Marks. Speaking to Ms Marks-Woldman, Kate described the commemorations as 'so important', adding: 'It is great to be here today with my husband.' The pair were then shown to the Old Library where they met with two tables of survivors and their families. After having formal handshakes, Kate then gave one survivor, Yvonne Bernstein, 87, a warm hug before they clasped each other's hands as they sat together and spoke. The princess said: '(It is) such a treat for me (to see) an old friend.' On the second table, Kate also hugged and spoke at length with fellow survivor Steven Frank BEM, 89. Mr Frank was photographed by the princess to mark the 75th anniversary commemorations in 2020. Asked about his interactions with Kate after the event, he told reporters: 'She's such a darling. 'She just immediately knew my name – such a lovely person. My grandchildren would be thrilled.' Asked about his continued efforts to share his experiences, Mr Frank added: 'It's become sort of a mission. Most people say 'You do it because it helps you mentally get it off your chest'. 'I do it because I've had so much good fortune coming to this country and having lived, loved, played sport, had a nice family, and it's time to give something back.' The roughly 50 Holocaust survivors in attendance were then gathered for a group photo, with the royals initially continuing to chat with their table as they assembled. William and Kate joined the photo alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner. Once taken, Sir Keir could be heard saying to one survivor that the photo was 'fantastic'. All guests then moved to the Great Hall for a special ceremony. The hall's walls, ceiling and chandeliers were lit purple as the London Youth Chamber Choir performed with an orchestra on stage. Several extracts from memoirs written by Jewish people during the Holocaust were read out, including by TV personality Robert Rinder, while the testimonies of survivors were also played on TV screens. In a short speech, William said: 'I am honoured to join you today to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and to remember the millions murdered during the Holocaust and in subsequent genocides. 'We also remember those survivors who have lived with scars, both mental and physical. 'Their bravery, in sharing with us the most harrowing moments of their lives, are extremely powerful and ensure that we never forget. I assure them we never will.' The prince then read an extract from the book Holocaust Heroes, which made reference to the efforts made by his great-grandmother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, to help a Jewish family in need. Giving his own speech, Sir Keir said the Holocaust was a 'collective endeavour' by ordinary people 'consumed by the hatred of difference'. The Prime Minister said: 'We start by remembering the six million Jewish victims and by defending the truth against anyone who would deny it. So we will have a National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre to speak this truth for eternity. 'But as we remember, we must also act. Because we say never again, but where was never again in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur, or the acts of genocide against Yazidi. 'Today, we have to make those words mean more. So we will make Holocaust education a truly national endeavour.' Sir Keir said all schools would teach the Holocaust and give opportunities to hear a recorded survivor testimony so that 'we can develop that empathy for others and that appreciation of our common humanity, which is the ultimate way to defeat the hatred of difference'. Other political attendees at the event were Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey, as well as the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley. At the end of the ceremony William and Kate each appeared on stage to gather a flame and light their own candles. Ms Marks-Woldman said: 'Your Royal Highnesses, your presence and contributions today send a powerful message at this time of increased Holocaust distortion and inversion, of the imperative of safeguarding the historical record, and for us all to take personal responsibility to uphold the truth of the past and work towards a better future.'
