Stephen Metcalfe MP met Ann Kirk, who escaped Nazi
Germany as a child, at the launch event for Holocaust Memorial Day 2014.
Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) is commemorated each year on
27 January – the liberation of the Auschwitz death and concentration camp. HMD
provides an opportunity for everyone to learn lessons from the Holocaust, Nazi
persecution and subsequent genocides (in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur)
and apply them to the present day to create a safer, better future.
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust
promotes and supports HMD activities in the UK. Each year HMDT selects a theme
around which HMD activities can focus. The theme for 2014 is Journeys.
Stephen spoke to Ann about her journey to the UK. Ann was
a Kindertransportee – sent unaccompanied from Germany by her parents who
were desperate for her to escape anti-semitic persecution in Nazi Germany. Ann
never saw her parents again.
Stephen said: ‘Ann’s
story is a reminder of the importance of commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day –
a day where we share the memory of the millions who were affected by the
Holocaust and other genocides. I want to encourage as many people as possible
in South Basildon and East Thurrock to mark HMD on 27 January 2014.’
Olivia Marks-Woldman, Chief Executive of the Holocaust
Memorial Day Trust, said:
‘We were delighted that Stephen showed his support for
Holocaust Memorial Day. We hope that many more people in South Basildon and
East Thurrock will organise events for next year’s HMD – adding to the over
2,000 activities which took place for HMD 2013.’
