‘Nazism does not pay’: warning at UK Yom HaShoah commemoration
Survivors, ministers and youth mark ceremony outside Parliament, linking Holocaust memory to rising hatred in Britain
Speakers at the UK’s national Yom HaShoah commemoration warned that antisemitism must be confronted in the present, as they pointed to recent attacks and growing hostility towards Jews in Britain.
Thousands gathered outside Parliament in Victoria Tower Gardens for the annual ceremony, attended by Holocaust survivors, politicians, communal leaders and more than 100 Jewish schoolchildren, with a strong focus on passing memory to the next generation.
Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg used his address to connect Holocaust remembrance directly to current events.
“Remembering the Shoah is not passive. It is a call to vigilance, moral clarity and action,” he said.
He pointed to recent incidents in Britain, including the deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester last year and the arson attack on Hatzola ambulances in north London, warning that antisemitism is not confined to history.
He added: “There are also those in our own time, well-known public figures, including Kanye West, who openly describe themselves as Nazis and sought to glorify Nazi ideology. This is not only offensive. It is a direct affront to the memory of the millions who perished.”
Rosenberg said: “Nazism does not pay. It will not pay, and it will never be allowed to pay.”
Communities Secretary Steve Reed told the crowd that safeguarding Holocaust memory requires ongoing commitment.
“Memory doesn’t survive by accident,” he said. “It needs people who are willing to hold it, to share it and to safeguard it, and that responsibility belongs to all of us.”
He added: “Your safety, your security and your freedom to live openly and freely as Jews in the United Kingdom matter and we are committed to stamping out antisemitism wherever and however it manifests.”
Reed also reaffirmed support for the planned Holocaust memorial and learning centre next to Parliament.
A central moment of the evening came as Holocaust survivor Dr Lydia Tischler MBE addressed the children present.
“I was 10 years old, I was about your age when Hitler, without an invitation, invaded my country and started making the lives of Jews very miserable, in stages, slowly ending up in one concentration camp after another,” she said.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said remembrance must extend beyond anniversaries.
“It won’t just be on annual occasions… but on each and every day… we pledge that we will ensure the world will never forget,” he said.
He added: “If you want to see true Jewish heroism, all you need to do is consider our extraordinary, wonderful, legendary Holocaust survivors.”
Children from seven Jewish primary schools stood together to sing a Holocaust remembrance song, part of a collective youth pledge to carry memory forward. Earlier, they told the audience: “We stand here in unity… to promise that the six million victims of the Shoah will never be forgotten.”
Union of Jewish Students president Louis Danker said the responsibility now lies with the next generation.
“Our generation must once again stand against hatred, against silence, and against indifference… with our identity, our voice, and our Jewish pride,” he said.
The ceremony also included the lighting of six memorial candles by survivors and descendants, each marking different groups targeted during the Holocaust, including the 1.5 million children murdered and the generations lost.
Among those lighting candles were survivors who had endured ghettos, camps and hiding during the war, joined by family members and community representatives, underlining the role of second and third generations in continuing remembrance.
Neil Martin CBE, chair of Yom HaShoah UK, said the evening highlighted the role of younger generations in carrying forward Holocaust memory.
“This year’s commemoration was about the next generation, and showing our survivors that the responsibility of remembrance is being carried forward with clarity, passion and determination,” he said.
“To hear the extraordinary Dr Lydia Tischler, aged 97, share her testimony directly with over 150 primary school children was a deeply emotional moment – a true passing of the torch.
“We do not take for granted the opportunity to gather at Victoria Tower Gardens, and we are hugely grateful to the Rt Hon Steve Reed and all at MHCLG, The Royal Parks and Westminster City Council for their support.
“This national ceremony is only possible thanks to the dedication of teams who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes, particularly from JLGB, CST and the Police.
“Tonight showed, with absolute clarity, that the future of remembrance is in safe hands.”
The event concluded with prayers and music, as speakers returned to a consistent message: that remembrance must be matched by action in confronting antisemitism in Britain today.
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