On Tuesday 27 January at 7.30pm, members of the faith communities across Worcestershire will gather at the Hive for an act of Commemoration to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
The event has been organised by Worcestershire Interfaith Forum, working with the University of Worcester, and civic and educational leaders will be present. Testimonies of the survivors of genocide will be read out and students from Worcester schools will lead those present in an act of commitment for a better future. The commemoration will be followed by light refreshments, hosted by the University.
27 January 2015 is the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and 2015 is also the 20th anniversary of the massacre of mainly Muslim Bosnians at Srebenica. These two anniversaries of horrendous genocides will form the key points of the commemoration. This year’s anti-genocide theme is “Keep the Memory Alive”.
In addition to the Tuesday evening commemoration, an exhibition will run throughout the week in the Hive. This will feature Holocaust Memorial Trust materials, panels from a display on how the Holocaust affected Gypsy Roma & Traveller communities, and photographs of Auschwitz and the Polish ghettos from local Bromsgrove priest and photographer Peter Holzapfel.
The Bishop of Worcester’s Interfaith Adviser Dr Fiona Haworth, who is also chaplain at the University, said: “After the events of recent weeks, it’s more important than ever for members of all faiths and none to come together to remember the human capacity for evil, and to take a stand together against it in the name of our common humanity as well as our own individual beliefs.”
More information on Holocaust Memorial Day can be found at: http://hmd.org.uk
All are welcome to attend the Act of Commemoration. Please contact the Chaplain, Revd Dr Fiona Haworth for more details: f.haworth@worc.ac.uk tel: 01905 542327
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