“Speak up, speak out” against injustice was the theme for the Holocaust Commemoration evening held in St Albans to remember men, women and children persecuted by the Nazis during World War II.
Councillor Aislinn Lee, the Mayor of St Albans City and District, who hosted the event on 30 January at Verulamium Museum, said: “This evening is not just about remembering the atrocities committed against Jewish people and others during the time of Nazi Germany, but also about sharing these lessons of the past and indeed all current occurrences so that we remember to speak up and speak out against all acts of racism and genocide to help create a better world.”
Representatives of various faiths were invited to the event, held to mark Holocaust Memorial Day which takes place each year on 27January.
During the evening on 30 January, Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth from St Albans Masorti Synagogue lit a Memorial Candle in memory of Holocaust victims and Peter Hart, the son of Auschwitz survivor, Kitty Hart-Moxon OBE, gave a testimonial in their honour.
This year the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust chose “Speak up, Speak out” as the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day. Inspired by the poem First They Came by Pastor Martin Niemoller, the Trust is asking people to think about the responsibility and duty they have to speak up when they see or hear something they believe to be wrong in order to help create a safer and better world.
More information about Holocaust Memorial Day 2012 is available on the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s website at: http://hmd.org.uk/resources/theme-papers/hmd-2012-speak-up-speak-out
Cllr Aislinn Lee, The Right Worshipful the Mayor of St Albans City & District.
Contact for the Mayor’s office:
Alison Orde, the Mayor’s Civic Officer
Tel: 01727 819544
E-mail: mayoralty@stalbans.gov.uk
Contact for the media:
Amanda Wilkinson,
Media and Internal Communications Officer
St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819317
E-mail: amanda.wilkinson@stalbans.gov.uk
www.stalbans.gov.uk
Picture caption:
Councillor Aislinn, The Mayor of St Albans City and District (centre) and Councillor Geoff Harrison, Deputy Mayor of St Albans City and District pictured at the Holocaust Commemoration with John Angel (far left), Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth (second from left) and Peter Hart (second from right) and Moira Hart (far right), all from St Albans Masorti Synagogue.
Notes:
More information about Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is available on its website at: http://hmd.org.uk/about/about-hmd