Holocaust Memorial Day

As part of our successful Outreach Programme led by Ms O’Kelly, on Tuesday 27^th January a group of students accompanied by Mr Yeabsley and Reverend Green made their way to Hertswood Academy to take part in Hertsmere Borough Council’s Annual Holocaust Memorial Day Ceremony. The event provided an opportunity to pause and to remember the millions of people who were been murdered or whose lives have been changed beyond recognition during the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

The evening began at Hertsmere Borough Council Civic Offices where local dignitaries, the public, students and teachers alike collected lanterns before joining a procession pointed towards Hertswood Academy where the rest of the ceremony took place. Their lanterns were placed in a line at the front of the stage as a symbol of community togetherness that remained for the whole evening.

The first speaker was Maralyn Turgel whose father had survived multiple concentration camps as a skilled labourer during the Holocaust. Maralyn’s emotional attachment to the story was clear as she went through her father’s life and how the Nazi regime systematically took apart his family until he was the only surviving member, subjected to the harshest conditions imaginable and then finally was rescued after 4 years of brutality in May 1945. The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day was “Bridging Generations” and Maralyn did this excellently by incorporating videos of her father recounting the events she was describing into her speech as well as by making her ultimate message one of education. Maralyn concluded that if we educate all people of all ages as to the horrors of the Holocaust then the adage will come true and the events will truly happen “Never Again”.

The Mayor of Hertsmere, Councillor Alpha Collins, continued hosting the ceremony and we were treated to further speeches from Leader of Hertsmere Council, Councillor Jeremy Newmark, as well as the Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of Hertsmere, Stuart Nagler, both of whom spoke superbly about the continued impact of the Holocaust on communities to this day and particularly in the ever-changing media landscape in which we now find ourselves. The mayor then handed over to The Welwyn Garden City Male Choir who beautifully sang both ‘The Rose’ and ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ to rapturous applause before concluding the evening with a brief prayer and two-minute silence.

Overall, it was an incredibly valuable experience for the students to have, an almost first-hand account of the events of the Holocaust from an inside perspective as well as an insight into how communities continue to grieve and to remember to this day. As Rev Green said to conclude the trip “I hope this can become a yearly tradition for us as well”. Thank you for allowing us the privilege to take part in such an important ceremony it was thoroughly thought provoking and enjoyable and I look forward to returning next year and to help Communities to ‘never forget’.

Written by Alexander Livingston 12M