Martin Docherty-Hughes, MP for West Dunbartonshire, has called on people to ‘stand together’ in remembrance of the millions of people who lost their lives during the Holocaust.
In the run up to Holocaust Memorial Day (27th January), the local Member of Parliament attended a reception in the House of Commons launching a campaign alongside survivors of the Holocaust.
Holocaust Memorial Day 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkeau.
The theme of this year’s commemoration events is ‘Stand Together’ – a reminder of the importance of standing with others against discrimination, hatred and intolerance. It coincides with the launch of a project to bring together the names of thousands of Jewish people murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust, as well as Roma, gay, disabled and other people persecuted.
Local MP Martin Docherty-Hughes met in parliament to launch the campaign alongside Holocaust survivors including Hannah Lewis MBE, who survived a Nazi forced labour camp in Poland after witnessing her own mother being executed.
In the lead up to Holocaust Memorial Day, thousands of commemorative events have been arranged by schools, faith groups and community organisations across the country, remembering all the victims of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides
Martin Docherty-Hughes MP said:
“Holocaust Memorial Day offers a timely reminder of the need for all of us to stand together to challenge hatred, discrimination and intolerance in our communities.
“The diversity of humanity is its strength – there is no single way of being human, and each of us draws strength from each other’s humanity. We must be constantly vigilant of how intolerance of one group will almost certainly lead to intolerance of others.
“As fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors are able to share their personal testimonies, it’s more important than ever that we ensure these lessons are not forgotten. We must do our best to make sure the horrific crimes of the past are never repeated.”
Chief Executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Olivia Marks-Woldman, said:
“With increasing division in communities across the world and here in the UK, now more than ever we need to stand together with others in our communities to challenge the spread of identity-based hostility.
“Our Stand Together project is a powerful way for us all to remember people murdered by the Nazis – as individuals with their own hopes, families and friends. It is a chance to restore their human dignity and remember where hatred can lead, and why we must all act to challenge it.
“Holocaust Memorial Day is an important opportunity for us all to learn from genocide, for a better future, and I’d urge everyone to get involved in activities for Holocaust Memorial Day 2020 by visiting hmd.org.uk.”
Find out more about Holocaust Memorial Day 2020 at: https://www.hmd.org.uk/standtogether/
