Theme announced for 80th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation

The countdown to Holocaust Memorial Day in January 2025 began on Monday with the unveiling of the theme for next year’s commemorations: ‘For A Better Future’.

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) 2025 will mark two significant milestones: 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex, and the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia.

Speaking at the theme’s launch at a special event in London, Holocaust survivor Dr Martin Stern MBE said: ‘Commemorating the liberation of the Nazi death camps reminds us that the phrase ‘Never Again’ has been mocked by subsequent history. The human race has huge lessons to learn as current events demonstrate. The task is urgent.

“Flaws in the human mind make repetition inevitable unless we apply human ingenuity to this problem on a scale resembling that which we have used to solve so many material problems. Annual commemoration of the Holocaust and other genocides is a vital stimulus to this effort”.

Safet Vukalić BEM, a survivor of the genocide in Bosnia, said: “Nearly 30 years after the Srebrenica genocide, I’m puzzled by the international community’s seeming inability to learn from its failures. Bosnia continues to struggle with figures in government who openly support convicted war criminals, deny the legitimacy of the state, and fuel division.

“This is why next year’s 30th anniversary is so important: it’s a time for deep reflection, a time for the international community to help Bosnia’s healing and progress towards a better future, not stand in its way”.

HMDT chief executive Olivia Marks-Woldman OBE said: “Auschwitz-Birkenau is a symbol of not just the Holocaust, but the dangers of unchecked hate. Our theme for next year’s Holocaust Memorial Day underscores a critical truth: even eighty years since the liberation of Auschwitz, the fight against intolerance and prejudice is far from over. Our theme is a call to action. Our collective challenge is to build a better future, one where the dignity of every human being is protected, and where prejudice is never allowed to become normalised”.

The event, to reflect on HMD 2024 and look ahead to HMD 2025, was also attended by HMDT’s honorary vice-president Lord Eric Pickles and Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary at the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.