Vikki Slade MP signs Holocaust Educational Trust Book of Commitment

This week, Vikki Slade MP, Liberal Democrat for Mid Dorset and North Poole, signed the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment, stating her commitment to marking Holocaust Memorial Day - honouring the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered during the Holocaust, and paying tribute to the extraordinary survivors who continue to educate younger generations.

Holocaust Memorial Day falls on 27 January, marking the anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Across the UK and internationally, people come together to commemorate the liberation of the camps and to remember the victims of the Holocaust.

Thousands of commemorative events are arranged each year by schools, faith groups and community organisations across the country, remembering the Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

In the lead-up, Vikki attended Holocaust Memorial events in Wimborne and Poole where she joined communities across Dorset in remembrance and reflection. Vikki has committed to sharing The Holocaust Educational Trust's Lessons from Auschwitz Project with schools in her constituency to ensure that future generations understand how such genocides begin.

After signing the Book of Commitment, Vikki Slade MP commented:

“Holocaust Memorial Day marks more than 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz Birkenau in 1945. It is a moment for people across Mid Dorset and North Poole to reflect on one of the darkest chapters in European history.

I pledge to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered, to honour survivors, and to speak out against all forms of antisemitism, which has risen in recent months and must be challenged wherever it appears.”

Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said:

“On Holocaust Memorial Day we remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators; and we honour the survivors who rebuilt their lives while coming to terms with unimaginable loss.

Over 80 years on, the Holocaust is fading further into history. As the voices of survivors sadly fades, the responsibility to continue their legacy passes firmly on to the next generation. The loss of eyewitnesses and the urgency to protect their stories for the next generation is crucial.

This Holocaust Memorial Day comes at a moment of renewed danger for Jewish communities worldwide. From Bondi Beach in Australia to Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, in recent months we have seen Jewish people murdered while observing their holiest days. These atrocities did not occur in a vacuum. This followed two years where antisemitism has been permitted to grow louder, more brazen and increasingly normalised. Remembering the murder of Jewish people in the past is essential, but remembrance alone is no longer sufficient, especially while Jewish lives remain at risk today.

Holocaust Memorial Day must be a call to action. Antisemitism must be confronted early and decisively, everywhere it appears, before it escalates into violence. It is up to all of us.”