Welwyn Hatfield come together in remembrance and hope

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council has a long-standing tradition of recognising Holocaust Memorial Day every year, to honour the 6 million Jewish men, women and children murdered during the Holocaust. Holocaust Memorial Day also recognises the horror and brutality of genocides which followed the Holocaust including the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

The theme for this year's Holocaust Memorial Day is 'ordinary people'. Through this theme, we encourage everyone to think about all the millions of ordinary victims of Nazi persecution and subsequent genocides. We are also prompted to think about how easy it is for 'ordinary people' to become perpetrators. In this light, today ordinary people must be alert to the dangers of antisemitism, racism, and intolerance, and strive to combat the evil of genocide in our world.

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council leader, Cllr Tony Kingsbury said:

Holocaust Memorial Day is our opportunity to remember those who suffered unspeakable horrors at the hands of the brutal Nazi regime and to reflect on what we can do as individuals to drive out hate, racism and antisemitism in all forms. "Holocaust Memorial Day empowers us to remember for a purpose, it gives us a responsibility to work for a safer, better future for everyone.

We can and should all step up and use our voices and our skills to tackle prejudice, discrimination and intolerance wherever we encounter them. This is our responsibility, but it is also our great privilege.

For the week after Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan 27th, art and written work on the theme 'Ordinary People' and Holocaust Memorial Day will be displayed to the general public at Campus West in the Humphreys café. Local schools are invited to submit entries for display by Tuesday Jan 24th to Wendy Lidgate at wendy.lidgate@outlook.com or telephone 07904 517384 for more information.