Holocaust Memorial Day

Every year we mark Holocaust memorial day on the 27^th of January, the day that the Auschwitz Concentration camp was first liberated in 1945. But Holocaust Memorial Day is about more than just the horrors experienced in the Auschwitz Concentration camp; it seeks to remember the suffering of people in genocides across the globe, and throughout the 20^th century. It helps us to learn lessons about how these horrific events can take place, and what we can do to prevent them from happening in the future.

Specifically, Holocaust Memorial Day focusses on the Holocaust which took place in the period 1938 – 1945 in Europe, The Cambodian Genocide which took place in the period 1975 – 1979 under the Khmer Rouge, The Rwandan Genocide of 1994, The Bosnian Genocide of 1995 and the Genocide which took place in Darfur in 2003 – 2005.

Bridging Generations 2026

Every Year the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust nominate a theme for Holocaust Memorial Day events and this year the theme is "Bridging Generations" - A reminder that the responsibility of remembrance doesn't end with the survivors - it lives on through their children, their grandchildren and through all of us. This theme encourages us all to engage actively with the past - to listen, to learn and to carry those lessons forward. By doing so, we build a bridge between memory and action, between history and hope for the future.

The Lancashire Education Inclusion: Stronger Communities Team have created a document of ideas which focuses on The Windermere Children - a group of children evacuated from concentration camps after the second world war and relocated to Windermere where they were given space and support to recover from their trauma and build a new life for themselves. Please have a look at these ideas and see how you could use the theme of Bridging Generations and the history of The Windermere children to work with your pupils and students on Holocaust Memorial Day and in the lead up to it in 2026, and in the future.

Lesson ideas for KS 1 and 2 and KS 3 and 4