Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) takes place each year on 27th January. It is an international day to remember the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust alongside the millions of others killed under Nazi persecution of other groups and under more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
27 January was chosen as it marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. HMD is for everyone. Each year across the UK, thousands of people come together to learn more about the past and take action to create a safer future. Together we bear witness for those who endured genocide, and honour the survivors and all those whose lives were changed beyond recognition.
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There are many books that have been written about the Holocaust, non-fiction and fiction (using the Holocaust as a setting for a fictional story). These books are informative and help us to learn, reflect and remember. We have a duty to remember but also to educate ourselves about one of the darkest periods of human history.
The Diary of Anne Frank remains the most famous of all Holocausts texts but we have many more within the library bearing witness to the Shoah (the Hebrew word for catastrophe).