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Be ‘a light in the darkness’ this Holocaust Memorial Day

Posted on : 27 Jan 2021

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) 2021 takes place on the 27th of January and the theme for this year is, ‘Be the light in the darkness’.

Holocaust Memorial Day gives everyone a chance to reflect on the depths humanity can sink to, but also how individuals and communities resisted that darkness to ‘be the light’ before, during and after genocide.

The ‘Be the light in the darkness’ theme asks us all to consider different kinds of ‘darkness’, such as identity-based persecution, misinformation, denial of justice, and different ways of ‘being the light’, by illuminating mistruths and togetherness.

To show the council’s commitment to commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day, Penallta House, Blackwood Miners’ Institute and Caerphilly Castle will be lit up to show an act of solidarity.

As many people are spending more time at home, there are a few creative ways that you can commemorate HMD and raise awareness within your household.

Food often brings people together and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) has produced recipe cards sharing dishes important to communities targeted during genocide. Also providing background information, the recipes are an engaging way of learning about cultures and commemorating the lives of people who were killed during genocide.

Cllr Jamie Pritchard, Caerphilly Council’s Equalities Champion commented, “It is important that we continue to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, as the atrocities of the Holocaust and other genocides throughout the world must never be forgotten. This year’s theme, ‘Be the light in the darkness’ encourages us to ‘be the light’ by showing an act of solidarity.

“We are encouraging children and family members to take part in a practical and engaging activities that raises awareness about the Holocaust and genocide and the people and countries that have suffered.”

The HMDT website is a great resource for teachers and parents who want educate their pupils/children to learn lessons from the past in creative, reflective and inspiring ways.

To get involved, have a go at the recipes and take a picture of your homemade dishes and use the hashtags #HolocaustMemorialDay #HMD2021 #LightTheDarkness to share with others.

There are a range of recipe cards you can explore and download from the HMD website: https://www.hmd.org.uk/resources/?genocide=any&resource_type=40&age=any

There are also hundreds of films, podcasts and documentaries which not only focus on the atrocities committed during World War II but also the following decades which shows the after effects of the crimes. Some notable movies/documentaries which have won multiple awards would include:

Schindler’s List (1993)
One of the greatest Holocaust films of all time and recipient of seven Academy Awards, Steven Spielberg’s sweeping epic Schindler’s List follows the real-life story of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a German businessman who saved the lives of more than 1,000 mostly Polish Jews by employing them in his factories during the Second World War. The stellar cast includes Ralph Fiennes as sadistic SS officer Amon Goeth and Ben Kingsley as Schindler’s Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern.

The Pianist (2002)
This powerful biographical drama directed by Roman Polanski is based on the Holocaust memoir of Polish-Jewish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman (played by Adrien Brody). Nominated for seven Oscars, The Pianist picked up three for best director, best adapted screenplay (Ronald Harwood) and best actor, as well as the Palme d’Or at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.

Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution (2005)
Powerful six-part documentary series from the BBC, which presents an in-depth look at the story of Auschwitz and features interviews with former inmates, guards and re-enactments of historic events. From conception to reality, mass murder, experimentation and ultimately liberation and revenge, the series covers all aspects of this notorious Nazi camp, where more than one million Jews were sent to their deaths.

Holocaust Memorial Day enables us to remember – for a purpose. It gives us a responsibility to work for a safer, better, future for everyone. Everyone can step up and use their talents to tackle prejudice, discrimination and intolerance wherever we encounter them.

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