Marking Holocaust Memorial Day 2023
TWO Inverclyde landmarks will turn purple to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
The Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock and the Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow sculpture will be among many famous UK buildings and landmarks that will be illuminated in the colour as part of the annual day of remembrance and awareness on Friday 27 January 2023.
At 4pm on 27 January, people are also encouraged to light candles and put them safely in their windows to remember those who were murdered for who they were and make a stand against prejudice and hatred today.
On Holocaust Memorial Day, people around the world remember the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, the millions of people killed under Nazi persecution of other groups, and those who died during more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.
Commemorations in the UK are organised by the charity, Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, and were highlighted at a meeting of Inverclyde Council’s education and communities committee on Tuesday, 24 January 2023, in a member’s request by Councillor Martin McCluskey that was unanimously endorsed.
In his request, Cllr McCluskey said: “The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is ‘Ordinary People’ and asks us to call to mind the role of ordinary people in facilitating persecution and genocide, and also those extraordinary people who went to extreme lengths to help, rescue and save people.
“The organisers of Holocaust Memorial Day 2023 are asking people to remember that today, we are all ordinary people who can be extraordinary in our actions. We can all make decisions to challenge prejudice, stand up to hatred, to speak out against identity-based persecution, to shop responsibly.”
The lighting of candles by individuals and illuminating buildings and landmarks purple is part of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s ‘light the darkness’ campaign.
Individuals and organisations across Inverclyde are being encouraged to take part and show their support.
Councillor Jim Clocherty, Inverclyde Council’s convener of education and communities, said: “The atrocities of the Holocaust shall never and will never be forgotten.
“Friday is an opportunity for us all to remember the millions of people who were murdered at the hands of the Nazis and during other horrendous acts of genocide but also serve as a reminder to us all of the role we can play in ensuring we never see the likes again.”
For more information about Holocaust Memorial Day and ways to show support, visit www.hmd.org.uk.