Holocaust Memorial Day 27 January

Thursday, 25 January 2024

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) is a day for everyone to remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution, and in the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfu. The theme for this year is Fragility of Freedom and this year marks the 30th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. 49 years after the Holocaust ended, 19 years after the genocide in Cambodia, Hutu extremists shattered the fragile freedom in Rwanda, following decades of tension and violence, culminating in the murder of over one million Tutsis (hmd.org.uk).

Given the current situation in Israel and Gaza and other conflicts, it is now even more important to bring people together and take steps to challenge hatred and persecution. HMD is a day for everyone, a day when we remember all those millions of people murdered because of something that made them who they were – for example their ethnicity or faith (hmd.org.uk).

Holocaust Memorial Day offers workplaces the opportunity to bring employees together to learn lessons from the past and develop an inclusive and welcoming work environment. HMD have produced this Get involved guide for workplaces for free and suggested a number of ways organisations can mark this event in the workplace, including:

  1. Display HMD postersin your staff room or office.
  2. Host a short educational and reflective session. Find templates for 10-30 minutes, or one-two hours here.
  3. Take a digital action, by posting about HMD on your social media, or internally on your staff Intranet. Find template posts, hashtags, downloadable graphics and a blog template here.
  4. Take part in Light the Darkness national momentby lighting up your building in purple or encouraging staff to light a memorial candle at 8pm on 27 January. Order HMD commemorative candles, stickers and pin badges, here.
  5. Create your own HMD event, tailoring it to your audience. For example, law firms could download free HMD resources on the development of international law through the Nuremburg Trials, or the UN tribunals for more recent genocides – and discuss them as a team.
  6. Explore this interactive map to find Holocaust Memorial Day events and activities near you.

On HMD and all other days, we must continue to challenge discrimination, intolerance, racism, and prejudice and stand up for humanity.

 

Lizzy Turek

Client Research Associate

Holocaust Memorial Day 27 January