Mel Stride marked Holocaust Memorial Day by signing the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment in the House of Commons.
In signing the book, Mel Stride pledged his commitment to honour those who were murdered during the Holocaust, as well as pay tribute to the extraordinary Holocaust survivors who work tirelessly to educate young people today.
Holocaust Memorial Day falls on 27th January every year, the anniversary of the liberation of the infamous former Nazi concentration and death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, in 1945.
Mel Stride, MP for Central Devon and Secretary of State for Department of Work and Pensions,said: “On Holocaust Memorial Day we remember the victims and survivors of the Holocaust and make sure they are not forgotten.
“It is an important opportunity for people in Central Devon to reflect on the darkest times of European history and stand against all forms of antisemitism, which in recent months has risen exponentially across the country and needs to be tackled head on.
“Prejudice and intolerance are best challenged when we stand together as a society and collectively say that any form of anti-Semitism, racism or discrimination is unacceptable.”
Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said:
“On Holocaust Memorial Day, we remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, and we honour those who survived.
“When the concentration camps of Europe were liberated, the reality of the Nazi attempt to eradicate world Jewry became clear. In newspapers, cinema and radio broadcasts the atrocities were laid bare. The phrase ‘Never Again’ was coined, reflecting the hope that the Holocaust would forever represent the ultimate result of anti-Jewish hatred; a warning signal for generations to come of where unchecked antisemitism could lead.
“This Holocaust Memorial Day, as antisemitism once again sweeps across the globe, it is more important than ever to remember the six million Jewish victims and remind ourselves that anti-Jewish racism did not begin nor end with the Holocaust.”
