This Sunday is Holocaust Memorial Day.  We remember the causes, atrocities and aftermath of the systematic killings of millions of Jews in Europe during the Second World War.  In remembering, we are once again deeply moved.  I will remember the appalling genocides committed in many places around the world: in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur and elsewhere, and the terrible genocides perpetrated by empire.

The theme this year is “Torn from Home”.  The theme reminds us that genocides do not emerge from nowhere and their effects last long after the killings stop.  Genocides start with the dehumanisation of their victims, often involve people being forced from their homes and leave survivors with trauma and shattered lives.

I am mindful that in current public discourse in the UK, throughout Europe and in the Americas there is the same dehumanising and divisive language that were the precursor to the Holocaust.  This Holocaust Memorial Day we must recommit to reject such tendencies and stand up against them.  May we ever be vigilant to uphold that every person is a valuable human being worthy of respect.

To find out more visit the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.

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