Six candles will be lit to remember of the six million Jews who were murdered during the Second World War as the National Memorial Arboretum commemorates Holocaust Memorial Day.
The Alrewas venue, will m the day on Saturday, January 27, with an extended version of the daily Act of Remembrance, featuring a short talk reflecting upon the horrors of the Holocaust and remembering the millions who died. It will include a two-minute silence at 10.50am.
Later in the day, Dr Isabel Wollaston from the department of theology and religion at The University of Birmingham will be leading a 'Spotlight On' talk that explores 'the power of words', the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2018. She will be discussing the evidence of the power of words and how they subsequently dictate how actions will be remembered, and what and whose stories will be told.
Dr Wollaston's talk will examine two effective attempts to 'scream truth to the world' about the atrocities which took place during the Second World War. The first was The Ringelblum Archive, a collection of documents from the Warsaw Ghetto, and the second will be the recovered 'buried texts' of members of the Sonderkommando, at the concentration camp in Auschwitz, Poland. She will explore the significance of these collective acts of witnessing, and why they have only relatively recently emerged from the shadows and received widespread attention.
The 'Spotlight On' talk will be held at 2.30pm in the Millennium Chapel of Peace and Forgiveness. Tickets are £3 in advance, or £4 on the day. Arboretum members do not have to pay for admission.
A tree dedicated to diarist Anne Frank is in ‘The Garden of The Innocents’ at the arboretum. Anne Frank died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp aged just 15. Symbolising the taking of a young life, each year her tree has its blossoms removed on June 12, the anniversary of her birthday so that the tree never bears fruit, just as Anne Frank was prevented from reaching maturity.
The Association of Jewish Ex-servicemen and Women also has a memorial at the arboretum dedicated to all members of the Jewish community who have served crown and country, and to all who have lost their lives as a result of that service. Carved from granite, the memorial represents the Star of David and is designed to provide different perspectives from various angles. ‘Remember’ is carved into the granite in Hebrew.
South Derbyshire
Members of the public are being invited to join South Derbyshire District Council chairman Michael Stanton for a ceremony marking Holocaust Memorial Day.
This year will continue what has become a traditional tribute in the District by dedicating a douglas fir tree at Rosliston Forestry Centre at 11am on Friday, January 26.
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust has chosen ‘The Power of Words’ as the theme for the day, focusing on how language was used in the past and in the present.
Councillor Stanton said: "Holocaust Day marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp.
"The ceremony offers a chance to promote community cohesion, reflect on the importance of respecting difference and encourage people not to stand by when they witness injustice.
"This tribute is our way of remembering the atrocities of the Holocaust through the dedication of a tree, a symbol of life and hope. Poems from the past and present day will be read.
"We would encourage the public to join us to reflect on the Holocaust and other genocides that have taken place since in locations such as Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur."
Anyone who would like to attend the ceremony should meet in the main foyer of the visitor centre at 10.40am ready to walk down for an 11am start.
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is the charity that promotes and supports Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD).
HMD has taken place in the UK since 2001, with more than 2,400 local activities taking place on or around January 27 each year.
The Holocaust
The Holocaust was a genocide during the Second World War in which Adolf Hilter's Nazi Germany, aided by its collaborators, systematically murdered some six million Jews, around two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe.
