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26 January 2007

Many events are taking place all round the UK and elsewhere this weekend in relation to the annual Holocaust Memorial Day.

Many events are taking place all round the UK and elsewhere this weekend in relation to the annual Holocaust Memorial Day.  It marks the liberation of Auschwitz in January 1945 and is a time for reflection on the capabilities of human beings for terrible and inhuman acts, not just in the Holocaust itself but also in other more recent events – the Killing Fields of Cambodia; the Rwandan genocide; “ethnic cleansing” in the Balkans; sectarian conflict in Iraq; and so many other examples, including those close to home in Northern Ireland.  The theme of this year’s event is “The Dignity of Difference”, based on the title of an excellent book by the Chief Rabbi, Dr. Jonathan Sacks.

There is an excellent website, including a Resources and Education section, and it is well worth taking a look at this time.  Anyone involved in education in any way should perhaps be wondering what we can contribute to try to make sure that humankind learns better skills.  The website is:  http://www.hmd.org.uk/resources/item/91/ . 

The Chief Rabbi contributed a poignant 3-minute piece on Holocaust Memorial to this morning’s “Thought for the Day” on Radio 4, and this should shortly be available on the BBC website as a “listen again” feature and, eventually, the script itself:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/thought/ .