Church Stretton School chosen to host special candle-lighting ceremony on Holocaust Memorial Day
News from our partners South Shropshire Academy Trust
A candle created by a world-renowned artist will be lit at Church Stretton School as part of a national initiative that sees 70 specially-designed candles at Holocaust Memorial Day events across the UK, marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau on 27 January 2015.
Peter Mould, a year 9 pupil at the academy who is related to Holocaust survivors, will light the candle at 9.30am on Tuesday 27 January 2015 to begin a moment of reflection honouring the survivors of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides.
The event, which will also contain a personal account from Harry Bibring, a Holocaust survivor, workshops for students from years 9 to 11 designed to reflect this year’s theme of “Keeping the Memory Alive”, plus a special exhibition exploring “Righteous Muslims”, was chosen from hundreds of applications sent to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the charity responsible for marking Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK.
Alun Morgan and Mark Michaels, event organisers, said:
“Holocaust Memorial Day is an important focal point in the year, and we are delighted to have been selected to be part of this nationwide commemoration. It is vital that we remember and reflect upon the horrors of the past, and honour those who survived.”
The school event is restricted to students at the academy, but an associated event open to the public will be held at 7pm at The Methodist Church, Watling Street South, Church Stretton on Tuesday 27 January 2015. This event is organised by the South Shropshire Inter-Faith Forum, and will feature reflections on Harry Bibring’s testimony, the Righteous Muslims exhibition, a time to remember Holocaust victims and the victims of all genocides, and will also include a relighting of the candle and opportunities for questions and answers. The special candles will also be lit at a national commemorative event in central London and at Auschwitz, as part of international commemorations taking place.
Olivia Marks-Woldman, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said:
“Our designer has created a beautiful candle to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. When all 70 of their candles are lit throughout the country, it will be a poignant moment of remembrance and a time for us all to ensure we keep the memory alive.”
For more information about Holocaust Memorial Day and the events taking place visit www.hmd.org.uk or follow The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust on twitter @hmd_UK #hmd2015.
For further information please contact Alun Morgan (alun.morgan@shropshire.gov.uk) or Mark Michaels (markjmichaels@googlemail.com)
Further information
About the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is the charity established by the government to promote and support Holocaust Memorial Day, encouraging and inspiring individuals and organisations across the UK to play their part in learning lessons from the past and creating a safer, better future.
hmd.org.uk/ keepthememoryalive.hmd.org.uk/
About Holocaust Memorial Day
Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January is the day for everyone to remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, under Nazi persecution and in the subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. 27 January 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and 20 years since the genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia.
