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Holocaust Centre North Commemorates Holocaust Memorial Day
January 27th, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, and Holocaust Centre North will commemorate this profoundly significant moment in history with an Evening of Commemoration at its base at the University of Huddersfield the following day, on January 28th.
Open to the public and free to attend, this annual event—organised by Holocaust Centre North—honours Holocaust remembrance. It brings together survivors, their families, community groups, the University of Huddersfield, Holocaust Centre North’s team and volunteers, and the local community to collectively remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside others who suffered and perished under Nazi persecution.
Introduced and led by Centre Director, Alessandro Bucci, alongside the University’s Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Tim Thornton – the evening will feature a mix of both traditional speeches and several creative and multi-media presentations to enable commemoration and creative reflection. Holocaust Centre North’s Chair and artist Jenny Kagan will begin the largely female led evening of talks and presentations. She is also a second generation Holocaust Survivor. Her mother is Margaret Kagan, whose story is told in Holocaust Centre North’s permanent exhibition: Through Our Eyes, which Jenny helped curate back in 2018. She will be followed by a presentation by Professor Caroline Study-Colls. As a Professor of Holocaust Archaeology and Genocide Investigation - her research focuses on the application of interdisciplinary approaches to the investigation of Holocaust landscapes. She will talk about the importance of Holocaust Education and her vital and important work at the University of Huddersfield.
At this pivotal moment in history, as the number of living survivors diminishes, ensuring their stories endure for future generations becomes ever more crucial. Holocaust Centre North is at the forefront of Holocaust commemoration, embracing creative and artistic approaches alongside testimony from second and third-generation survivors.
Several survivors closely connected to Holocaust Centre North will feature in pre-recorded multimedia presentations showcased on the night. Through these videos, they will share deeply personal accounts of life under Nazi persecution—stories of both unimaginable hardship and remarkable resilience—as well as reflections on the new lives they built in the North of England.
The evening will also feature a short performance by refugees and artists from 6 million+ who will share their reflections on remembrance from multinational perspectives.
Holocaust Centre North’s evening of commemoration will culminate in a moving recital of the El Maleh Rachamim prayer (The Prayer for the Soul of the Departed) by Cantor Rachel Weston, who was recently inaugurated at Sinai Synagogue in Leeds as part of its 80th anniversary celebrations. This will be followed by the traditional lighting of six remembrance candles, lit by the Centre’s community of survivors—an integral part of the organisation whose stories lie at the very core of its permanent exhibition.
Director of Holocaust Centre North Alessandro Bucci comments: “It is so important to come together to remember, to commemorate and to reflect on our own connections to this devasting period of history and to remember the lives lost and honour those who survived. Holocaust Centre North was established by survivors of the Nazi Genocide who wanted to share their stories to educate as well as to promote compassion, empathy and friendship between diverse communities. We remain committed to this mission all year round. Days like Holocaust Memorial Day just offers us an additional opportunity to shed a local and national spotlight on the vital work that we do and to recognise our exceptional survivors, allies and educators who help us in our aim to ensure Holocaust History is never forgotten.”
Ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day - Holocaust Centre North is also proud to announce the publication of its first-ever poetry collection, Poetry After Auschwitz: Walking in West Cornwall with the Ghost of Great-Aunt Hilde, by writer, historian and educator Ben Barkow CBE. This collection offers a deeply personal and intimate reflection on the Holocaust, drawing from Barkow’s own family experiences.
Barkow was the Director of the Wiener Holocaust Library until 2019 – the world’s oldest centre for the study of the Holocaust and antisemitism. He has published several books on the subject. However, this marks his first collection of poetry. Written over the past two and a half years from his home in Cornwall, Barkow found inspiration in the rugged Cornish landscape, a stark contrast to the dark subject matter.
Copies of Ben Barkow’s book can be ordered here:
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Tickets for Holocaust Centre North’s Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration Evening on Tuesday 28th January at the Centre are free but must be pre booked via the
website: www.holocaustcentrenorth.org.uk.