All generations gather to remember at Holocaust Memorial event

AROUND 40 people of all ages gathered for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day event which had the theme of ‘Bridging Generations’.

The event, organised annually by Saddleworth Peace Group (SPG), saw the group and their supporters meet by Uppermill Methodist Church on Sunday, January 25.

Attendees and speakers included local MP Debbie Abrahams, Parish Council Chair Cllr Helen Bishop, young people from Oldham’s ‘Listen to the Earth’ programme who recently returned from a visit to Auschwitz, and members of SPG.

Magda Sachs from SPG opened proceedings, stressing the importance of holding an event that reflected upon the horrors of the Holocaust, which witnessed the murder of six million Jews and millions of other people, but which also highlighted subsequent and current atrocities.

Michele Abendstern, another group member, went on to state that remembering past atrocities was vital but not enough and that ‘Never Again’ must not become a hollow mantra.

Katy Boulton, also from SPG, highlighted the genocide of the Roma and Sinti communities during the Holocaust and their continuing struggle to have this recognised.

The final speaker Liz Green, from SPG, recalled the Rwandan genocide of 1994, and focussed on the work of reconciliation and forgiveness that Rwandans have worked hard to achieve since those dreadful days.

There were also contributions from Mrs Abrahams, who spoke about the fragile state of international organisations such as the UN and the need to support their mission to ensure equal rights and justice for all.

She also spoke about the situation in Palestine and of the world’s failure to prevent a genocide that is taking place before our eyes.

Cllr Bishop spoke directly to the younger members of the audience, applauded their courage in visiting Auschwitz and their understanding that they needed to learn through experience.

The finale of the event was held inside the Methodist Church Hall where a presentation was given by the young people from ‘Listen to the Earth’.

Their impressive, moving and thought-provoking performance included a call to listen to their experiences as young people and their commitment to keep talking about what they had learned and experienced and not allow prejudice and hatred to go unchecked.

The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s theme – ‘Bridging Generations – a call to action’ – aimed at encouraging everyone to engage actively with the past “to build a bridge between memory and action, between history and hope for the future”.