Holocaust Memorial Day

We marked Holocaust Memorial Day with a moving online assembly, with pupils invited to light a candle at home as an act of remembrance.

On 27th January 1945, Soviet soldiers liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp. Each year, on 27th January, we remember the millions who were murdered by the Nazis, as well as the other genocides that have marred the 20th and 21st Centuries.

Over the years, the South Hampstead community has been enriched by the presence of daughters, grand-daughters and now great grand-daughters of survivors of the Shoah. Many of them have shared their stories with us and continue to speak out and shine a light. This week, alumna Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, wrote an opinion piece in the Jewish Chronicle, ensuring we continue to take action against prejudice. Another former pupil, Laura Marks OBE, founder of Mitzvah Day, spoke on BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought, reminding listeners that identity based hatred has not gone away.

At this morning’s Holocaust Memorial Day assembly, one of our Sixth Formers, Sonya, shared the poignant history of her own family, who came from Russia – a powerful talk to help ensure the next generation remember those affected and help to build a better future.