Holocaust Memorial Day 2022

Thursday 27-01-2022 - 09:31
Hmd

Today, Thursday 27 January, the Student Association invites students and staff to join us in showing their respect to those who suffered and/or lost their lives in the Holocaust…  

‘Holocaust Memorial Day is the 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 Darfur.’ 

We decide to mark this day because 77 years on from the end of the Second World War, where so many atrocities took place – we must carry to duty to remember what happened all those years ago. The numbers of survivors have begun to reduce as the years pass on, so we owe to them to remember their suffering to prevent it from happening again. As Holocaust survivor, Arek Hersh, put it - “It was the most horrific thing any human being should ever see. The world should never see that again.”  

We can do this by continue to listen and share the stories of survivors – some of which you can hear/see recounted here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4W3yzYG6DzPBH08Ld0H9L9j/six-stories-of-children-who-survived-the-holocaust

Since the Second World War, there have been further acts of violence against groups of people – genocides committed against groups around the world. Learning about mass suffering only set about after the Holocaust. In part due to the investigation of the Holocaust, a whole field of genocide studies has developed and, in consequence, the further crimes against groups have been recognised and restored to history.  

In comparing the Holocaust to other genocides and crimes against humanity, common patterns can be traced and processes in the instigation of growing genocidal circumstances. By recognising and the understanding the genocidal process, we can hopefully prevent future genocides and emphasise the importance of our own roles and responsibilities in the global community. 

 

What is Genocide? 

Genocide is an internationally recognized crime where acts are committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. These acts fall into five categories: 

  1. Killing members of the group; 
  2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; 
  3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; 
  4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; 
  5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. 

There are several other serious, violent crimes that do not fall under the specific definition of genocide. They include crimes against humanity, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and mass killing. 

 

Holocaust Memorial Day Resources 

For those of you who wish to learn more about these past tragic events, we have pulled together some resources which you might find useful: 

  • Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) Trust  This website provides a platform of information including the history, resources, todays campaigns and activities and more! Click here to vist the website 
  • Media List Our Student Engagement Co-ordinator has created a list of suggested media that could help you learn and understand more about the Holocaust and related tragedies. Click here to download our media list. 
  • 'One Day’ in History This year, Holocaust Memorial Day has a theme of ‘One Day’ – We will commemorate on one day (today) and look back and learn about specific days in history. Click here to view our 'One Day in History' compilation which looks at the Rwandan Genocide, the Bosnian Genocide and the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields in Cambodia.

 

 

References:

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/01/25/archivists-are-racing-to-identify-every-jewish-holocaust-victim 

https://www.hmd.org.uk/  

 

Categories:

Activities & Events

Related Tags :

More Forth Valley Students' Association Articles

More Articles...