Alan Beith MP commits to safeguard the legacy of Holocaust Survivors

12.00.00pm GMT Thu 28th Jan 2010

Remembering the Holocaust is vital to ensure that the horrendous crimes, racism and victimisation committed, and subsequent genocides, are neither forgotten nor repeated.

Sir Alan Beith MP pledged his commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day by signing a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons to honour those who perished in the Holocaust.

With 27th January marking the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Holocaust Educational Trust placed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons to give MPs the opportunity to remember those who were persecuted and murdered during the Holocaust - and to support a 'Legacy of Hope', learning from Survivors' experiences to help create a future free from hatred and prejudice.

In doing so, Sir Alan Beith paid tribute to those remarkable individuals who survived the appalling events of the Holocaust and have since dedicated their lives to educating younger generations about the dangers of allowing persecution and intolerance to take hold in society.

On and around Holocaust Memorial Day, schools, local communities and faith groups from across the UK will join together to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Thousands of events are being held across the country to commemorate all those who suffered at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust and in subsequent genocides. The aim of the day is to motivate people - individually and collectively, to ensure that the horrendous crimes, racism and victimisation committed during the Holocaust and subsequent genocides are neither forgotten nor repeated. This year is the ninth year that Holocaust Memorial Day has been commemorated in the UK.

Sir Alan said:

"We have a duty to those who survived the Holocaust, and those who lost their lives, to pass on the lessons of the Holocaust to future generations. Holocaust Memorial Day gives us an opportunity to reflect on the legacy of Holocaust Survivors, to commemorate the millions who died under Hitler's regime and to commit to a future free from racism and discrimination.

"I recently visited Auschwitz with young people from the Berwick upon Tweed constituency and I am sure that visits like this, which are organized by the Holocaust Educational Trust, also play a crucial role in strengthening commitment to remembering the Holocaust. "

Karen Pollock, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust said:

"We are delighted that Sir Alan Beith MP is supporting Holocaust Memorial Day. Remembering and learning about the Holocaust is more important now than ever before. This year's theme, 'The Legacy of Hope' highlights the important role young people have to play in taking the Survivors' mantle forward and educating their peers about the Holocaust."

The Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) was established in 1988 to educate young people from every ethnic background about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today. HET works in schools, universities and in the community to raise awareness and understanding of the Holocaust, providing teacher training, an Outreach programme for schools, teaching aids and resource materials. HET regard one of their earliest achievements as ensuring the Holocaust formed part of the National Curriculum for History.

HET continues to play a leading role in training teachers on how best to teach the Holocaust and in 2007, the Treasury pledged a three-year commitment for HET to administer a broad programme of teacher training. This Holocaust Educational Development Programme (HEDP) is being delivered by the Institute of Education and funded jointly by the DCSF and The Pears Foundation.

In November 2005, the Treasury announced funding of £1.5 million for HET to support its Lessons from Auschwitz Project. The funding has enabled HET to facilitate visits to Auschwitz for 2 students from every school in the UK. Last year the Department for Children, Schools & Families announced renewed funding for English schools and in November 2008 the Scottish Government announced funding for Scottish schools. The Welsh Assembly Government has also pledged funds in order to ensure that Welsh schools can continue to benefit from the Project.

The Holocaust Educational Trust has produced a BAFTA award-winning DVD-ROM Recollections: Eyewitnesses Remember the Holocaust, in conjunction with the USC Shoah Foundation Institute. The groundbreaking interactive resource integrates testimony from 18 eyewitnesses of the Holocaust, including Jewish survivors, Roma and Sinti survivors, Jehovah's Witness survivors and political prisoners as well as testimony from survivors of the eugenics programme.

The Holocaust Educational Trust has been closely involved in the establishment and development of Holocaust Memorial Day since its inception in 2000. Holocaust Memorial Day is now administered by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.

Holocaust Memorial Day came about following an MP's visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau with the Holocaust Educational Trust. Moved by his visit, Andrew Dismore MP proposed a bill, "to introduce a day to learn and remember the Holocaust" June 30 1999.

Every year in the days leading up to Holocaust Memorial Day, the Holocaust Educational Trust places Book of Commitment in the House of Commons for MPs to sign and pledge to remember the Holocaust and act on its contemporary lessons.

You can find out more about the Holocaust Educational Trust's work at: http://www.het.org.uk/

Holocaust Memorial Day

The purpose of Holocaust Memorial Day is to remember the horrors of the Holocaust and those who perished. The day aims to ensure that the horrendous crimes against humanity committed during the Holocaust are never forgotten, and its relevance for each new generation is understood.

The theme for UK Holocaust Memorial Day 2010 is "Legacy of Hope". It challenges us to make the experience and words of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides a meaningful part of our future, and use their example to inspire positive action. Holocaust Memorial Day 2010 is an opportunity to forge links across ALL the diverse strands of local community lives, to build understanding and to unite in a common cause.

Details of the national event in London on January 27th and associated events across the rest of the UK are available on the Holocaust Memorial Day website at www.hmd.org.uk