Worldwide, January 27 marks a day of remembrance for those lost in the Holocaust, and this day has been largely looked at in the United Kingdom since 2001.
From 1933, when Adolf Hitler assumed power in Germany, Jewish people were denied human rights and treated terribly. Segregation, loss of jobs, and harsh words were only the beginning however. From 1941 to 1945, Jewish people were murdered because of a stereotype that one man came up with. Around six million men, women and children were gassed, worked to death or shot on sight in these four years of a hellish genocide. Families were destroyed and homes and businesses were lost. Those that survived returned to the world to find they had lost everything.
Many people lost their lives due to Nazi persecution, and Holocaust Memorial Day helps remind of the pain and lives lost but also of the strength and willpower of the survivors.This day also acts as a remembrance day for more recent genocides that have taken place in places like Rwanda and Cambodia.
The date was chosen because Auschwitz-Birkenau, a large Nazi concentration camp, was liberated on the same date in 1945. Even though many were liberated from this death camp, the emotional scarring would last a lifetime.
The theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is “Keep the Memory Alive,” which is meant to show us that we need to remember those lost and those saved and also to ensure nothing on that large of a scale happens again. Through equality, the world can become a much better place; no one wants to be treated like they are lower than somebody else. We are all equal.
People might form prayer groups, light a candle, or arrange a whole day of activities to acknowledge this day that packs a powerful message. Holocaust Memorial Day calls for understanding, diversity and equality to ensure the pains of the past can stay in the past.