A group of students from Saint Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester took part in a special event at the Home in Manchester to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

Holocaust Memorial Day is the international day of remembrance for the victims and the survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides. Each year there is a national theme, set by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, which provides a focus to the event; this year’s theme is the power of words. 

Spoken and written words from individuals, corporations, community organisations or the state, can have a huge impact, whether good or bad. The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2018 explores how language has been used in the past, and how it is used in the present day.

The students watched a film which traced the journey of Stephanie Nyombayire, a young Rwandan anti-genocide activist who teams up with Sir Martin Gilbert, the renowned Holocaust historian, to travel across 15 countries and three continents interviewing survivors and descendants of the diplomats who rescued tens of thousands of Jews from the horrors of the Nazi death camps.

Ms Emmeline Nathan, History teacher at Saint Paul’s, explained: “The students watched a Holocaust related film and attended a talk by Dr Peter Kurer, a survivor who lives in Manchester, and a discussion with Mike Levy from the Holocaust Education trust.

This day gives us the opportunity to learn lessons from the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and subsequent genocides. It is important that we involve young people in this learning so we can develop a legacy which teaches the next generation about respect and tolerance and instils the message of peace.”

“This important event gives us an opportunity to take time out to remember the victims of the Holocaust and other atrocities and to look at how we can avoid such things happening in the future,” commented Mr Alex Hren, Head Teacher at Saint Paul’s. “The victims of the Holocaust and the terrible injustice which they suffered should never be forgotten.”