Holocaust Memorial Day 2020

Posted at 11:05 am on 4th February, 2020

Stand Together

Year 10 students were invited to attend a Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Robert Bolt Theatre, Sale Waterside.  

Monday 27th January was Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) and it takes place, annually, on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.  This year marks the 75th anniversary and the theme is ‘Stand Together.’

Holocaust Memorial Day is a day for everyone to remember the millions of people who were killed, or whose lives have been changed by the holocaust, or during conflicts in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. 

Mrs Irwin, Teacher of Religious Studies, said:

“As a community we stood together to remember and to send a message that nothing like this should happen again in the future. It is important to respect all those who have lost their lives whilst educating future generations that we are stronger if we stand together and learn from previous mistakes.”  

Wellacre always marks Holocaust Memorial Day in school with assemblies and reflection in tutor time.  We were proud to join the citizens of Trafford when they gathered to remember victims of the Holocaust and all genocides.  

Hearing from survivors and members of the community at the Sale Waterside community event was extremely thought-provoking and following the event Matthew, Will, Leo and Max reflected on what they had learned:

Matthew, Year 10, said:

"It gave us a real insight into what it is like to be a relative of a survivor of genocide and how to respect and honour them." 

Fellow student Will said:

"Accounts of survivors helped us to appreciate the enormity of the Holocaust and it's impact on people's lives." 

Max added:

"I was amazed to learn that on 9/11 nearly 3000 people died but the same amount of Jewish people died, if not more, every day throughout World War 2.  It's so difficult to comprehend." 

The Holocaust is embedded in the Humanities curriculum.  Year 9 students are studying the Holocaust in History lessons this term, and all students in Year 10 and 11 will have been taught about it in lessons previously.