Manchester to mark Holocaust Memorial Day with online service

On 27th January, the city of Manchester will mark Holocaust Memorial Day and the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.  

An event will be hosted by GMCA (Greater Manchester Combined Authority) and as last year, the service will take place online.  

The service will be broadcast from the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham’s, twitter (@MayorOfGM), from 12pm on Thursday 27th January.  

This year, the guiding theme is “One Day” and the people of Manchester are encouraged to remember the victims, challenge the distortion of history and safeguard the historical record.  

Holocaust Memorial Day provides an opportunity to learn about the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and the genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur, in the hope that there may be One Day in the future with no genocide.  

Manchester City Council have provided all local schools with Holocaust commemorative and educational activities to aid teachers and education providers in Greater Manchester to raise awareness on the day and enlighten young people about the struggle of Holocaust survivors.  

Providing education resources to schools ensures the stories of Holocaust survivors live on and are not forgotten. It also allows young people to have important conversations about remembering the day and how they can strengthen their solidarity with the victims and their families.  

“Holocaust Memorial Day acts as an ever-present reminder of the atrocities of the Holocaust,” said Councillor Luthfur Rahman.

“On this annual day we will honour the six million victims, and we stand in solidarity with the communities and families affected.  

“Manchester is a multi-cultural city, for many residents the Holocaust will be deeply personal and we want to encourage other communities to learn more about the struggle of the victims and focus on how they can be supported on this day and in the future.  

“The educational packs that have been provided by the council to schools will allow us to ensure younger generations are educated on the Holocaust and that the victims are never forgotten.”

Manchester has been holding Holocaust Memorial Day events for 20 years, which have focussed on providing the city’s children and young people with opportunities to learn from the past.

Broadcast live to residents through Facebook, YouTube and Twitter from 12pm, the service will hear from speakers including Holocaust survivor Gisela Feldman and pupils from Falinge Park High School, a Beacon school for Holocaust Education.

There will also be musical performances from Cantor Charles Chait, as well as readings and prayers, and a minute’s silence led by Rabbi Daniel Walker from Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation.

Candles of remembrance will be lit by representatives from the Jewish Representative Council and Greater Manchester’s equality panels.

This year’s Holocaust Memorial Day takes place under the theme of ‘One Day’, which can be interpreted in many ways, including ‘one day when life changed’ and ‘one day in the future’.

“Once again, our virtual commemoration this year will enable people right across our city-region to hear the powerful words of survivors and join together in solidarity and reflection, as we remember the Jewish victims of the Holocaust and all those who have faced the unspeakable crimes of genocide in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur,” said Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.

“It’s a privilege to have Gisela joining us to share her testimony, and I’d like to thank the Association of Jewish Refugees and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust for their continued support, and everyone contributing to this year’s service.

“Under the theme of One Day, this year’s commemoration asks us to think about how lives, and history, can change in moments. But it also challenges us to work, day by day, towards a future when there will be no division, prejudice, or injustice.

“As we remember the victims of the Holocaust and all other genocides, every one of us here in Greater Manchester should commit ourselves to that goal.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic an in-person event involving multiple schools was not possible in 2021 nor this January.  

Instead, the city is providing all Manchester’s secondary pupils with the opportunity to access HMD content digitally.

For three days over HMD (27th January), Manchester’s secondary schools have access to exclusive digital content from UK Jewish Film. For further information, contact [email protected].