Holocaust educators braced for ‘agonising’ weekend
Schools and offices scale back this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations over Gaza conflict
Holocaust educators have given warning that this weekend’s Holocaust Memorial Day will be “the most agonising since it was instituted”.
The Anne Frank Trust UK, an outreach charity, has confirmed that, with the Israel-Hamas war continuing in Gaza, three schools have suspended programmes aimed at empowering nine-to-15-year-olds to challenge all forms of prejudice through the study of the diary of Anne Frank.
Some workplaces have scaled back activities around Holocaust Memorial Day, which will be marked on Saturday, because of fears of inflaming tensions among employees, Jewish News has learned.
The revelations come in the run-up to Holocaust Memorial Day, on 27 January, which commemorates the murder of six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis, as well as victims of more recent genocides, in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
Tim Roberston, chief executive of the Anne Frank Trust UK, told Jewish News that “tensions” had meant the temporary withdrawal of three institutions from their outreach programme.
He said: “Since 7 October we have worked in more than 180 schools in England and Scotland, reaching over 17,000 young people – and these numbers are up on this period last year.
“Three schools have postponed our programmes because of local tensions, but overall, we’ve been heartened at how committed schools remain to engaging with our work.”
Robertson added that the three schools are “of different types and in different parts of the country” and that the Trust “can see no pattern” in the postponements. It is working with the schools to get their programme “re-booked as soon as possible”.
The move comes as Jewish leaders and Holocaust advocates say this year’s HMD – the theme of which is “fragility of freedom” – will feel different because of the community being “caught in the crossfire of opinion” over the Israel-Hamas war and rising antisemitism in Britain.
Speaking this week, Rabbi Jonathan Romain told the PA news agency: “Jews feel very conflicted at the moment, because we’ve got this really strange situation where we think of Jews at Holocaust Memorial Day in the Second World War as victims, whereas now there are parts of British society which see Jewish Israelis as perpetrators of violence and so we feel a little bit caught in the crossfire of opinion.”
He added that this year will be “probably the most agonising Holocaust Memorial Day since it was instituted.”.
Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said there was an anticipation this year’s commemoration would be “challenging” amid observations of “fracturing communities”.
Marks-Woldman told Jewish News: “We’ve seen the most shocking increase in antisemitism. We’ve seen huge rises in anti-Muslim hatred and we have seen people exploiting these divisions. As a result, communities in the UK are fracturing, so it’s a really difficult time for a lot of them.” She was unequivocal, however, that the current conflict should not hamper observations of HMD this year.
“Holocaust Memorial Day has always been about, should always be about, will always be about commemorating the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators,” Marks-Woldman said. “That needs to be remembered last year, this year and every year.
“HMD also marks the non-Jewish victims of Nazi persecution and very specific genocides that took place afterwards in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. Holocaust Memorial Day is not contingent on anything. The Holocaust needs to be remembered in and of itself, but also for the lessons that it gives us today showing where prejudice can lead when it’s normalised and encouraged. Those points are relevant for everybody.”
She added that some Shoah survivors, with whom HMDT engages, were “finding it very hard to see what’s happening around us now in Britain”. Marks-Woldman added: “In their final years they are living in a world with increasing antisemitism, increasing so swiftly and so starkly. It’s very painful for them to see.”
Her sentiment that HMD should be commemorated as robustly this year as previously echoes that of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who said such events were “vital” in confronting antisemitism.
At the Holocaust Memorial Day service in City Hall on Monday, Khan said: “The Holocaust is one of the most harrowing events in history and it’s vital that we continue to hold events like this to ensure we never forget those who were killed and never forget where prejudice, racism and hatred can lead if allowed to fester unchecked and unchallenged. This now feels more important than ever .”
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