HMD 2020 – Stand Together

Welcome to the Bristol Holocaust Memorial Day website.

Here in Bristol, we commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day with an annual civic event, held at City Hall on College Green. The event is run by a team of dedicated volunteers with the help of various supporters.

If you would like to join our Bristol Holocaust Memorial Day Steering Group, please email us.

Why we mark Holocaust Memorial Day in Bristol

Holocaust Memorial Day is a day for education, commemoration and reflection: to think deeply about what happened to countless individuals, and how small actions escalated to acts of organised hate crime and, ultimately, genocide.

We remember all the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, of Nazi persecution, and of subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.

We also reflect on what we need to do today, both to keep the memory alive and to build societies that resist this kind of discrimination and all forms of identity-based violence. Here in Bristol, we look at these issues throughout the year, not just in January.

Holocaust Memorial Day falls on 27th January every year, which is the date when the death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, was liberated in 1945. The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2020 is ‘Stand Together’. Previous themes were ‘Torn From Home’ (2019), ‘The Power Of Words’ (2018), ‘How can life go on?’ (2017), and ‘Don’t Stand By’ (2016).

Join us for HMD 2020

Please join fellow Bristol residents for the civic commemoration on Monday 27th 2020 from 1:30-4:45pm at City Hall, College Green, Bristol, BS1 5TR:

  • Hear speakers from diverse communities share reflections on the HMD 2020 theme, ‘Stand Together.’ Click here for details of this year’s speakers.
  • Our headline speaker for HMD 2020 is Dame Helen Hyde, a Holocaust educator who also works to support survivors of the Rwandan genocide.
  • Our second speaker is Annick Lever, a child survivor of the Holocaust who was raised in a Catholic family. Annick has connections to Bristol, and we look forward to welcoming her back to the city.
  • For the first time, we will have a live video stream from the commemoration ceremony in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former concentration camp and death camp where 1.1 million victims of the Holocaust died, including Jews, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, Gypsy and Roma, political prisoners, and members of the LGBT community. The ceremony in Poland is broadcast around the world, and attended by Holocaust survivors and heads of state.
  • We will also hear from sixth form students in Bristol, who will speak about their visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and the Lord Mayor of Bristol, Jos Clark.
  • Visit stallholders representing charities that work with refugees or people who have experienced racism and war.
  • The event is free and is wheelchair accessible; there will also be a hearing loop, and BSL interpretation.
  • Light refreshments will be available during the event.

Download our 2020 Bristol Holocaust Memorial Day Programme here.

Polly Allen & Ben Royston

Co-Chairs, Bristol HMD Steering Group

Email: Chair@BristolHMD.org

Twitter@BristolHMD   #BristolHMD #HMD2020

Facebook: BristolHMD