Welcome to our January 2009 newsletter
If you have any colleagues who may be interested in the work of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust please pass this newsletter on and encourage them to join our mailing list.
Two Weeks to HMD09
It is now two weeks to HMD09. If you have not yet ordered your free resources there is still time – you can also download all HMD resources from our website.
HMDT has produced a number of resources which are suitable for display and distribution including:
•A set of 4 A3 posters examining the theme Stand up to Hatred
•A set of 8 A5 postcards which focus on individuals who have challenged hatred
•A short film on DVD (please note this is not suitable for primary school pupils)
•Copies of the 2009 theme paper Stand up to Hatred which is suitable for distribution to attendees at your commemoration
All materials are free of charge and can be ordered by emailing
enquiries@hmd.org.uk or calling 0845 838 1883.
Tell us about your event
Events across the country – from film showings to theatre productions and survivor testimony events – are published on the HMD website. We want all HMD events to be as well publicised and attended as possible. Please add your event to the listing on the HMD website which will ensure that we are able to direct people towards events in their own community. HMD09 Events
We may also be able to assist with securing local press coverage for your event. If your event is not open to the public (such as a school assembly) please do still let us know about it as we are keen to record all of the commemorations of HMD which take place.
Stand up to Hatred Walk
The HMD National Commemoration will be taking place in Coventry and as part of the city’s wide-ranging programme of events a Stand up to Hatred Walk will be taking place on Saturday 24th January. This walk is an opportunity for people from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds to collectively come together to make an active commitment to Stand up to Hatred.
Participants in the walk will be in the company of survivors of the Holocaust and more recent genocides. The walk will assemble outside the Belgrade Theatre and leave at 1pm culminating with a series of speeches, performances and an opportunity for participants to pledge their commitment to Stand up to Hatred in the Cathedral Ruins.
The walk will be a unique opportunity to bring us together to celebrate our diversity, build understanding and to unite us in a common cause.
To take part in the walk please register with claire@imagineerproductions.co.uk as soon as possible.
New BBC archive to be launched
The BBC will be launching a new archive collection “Witnessing the Holocaust” to coincide with HMD09. The collection will feature both programmes and documents from the BBC’s archives which range from Richard Dimbleby’s harrowing account following the allied relief of Belsen in 1945 to a Blue Peter interview with Otto Frank, father of Anne – first broadcast in 1979.
The documents explore the BBC’s reporting of the plight of European Jews from 1942 onwards and also feature a moving diary from journalist Patrick Gordon Walker who spent several days in Belsen following the liberation of the camp.
Please check www.bbc.co.uk/archive on or after 27 January for more information.
The Journey
New Primary School Exhibition opens at the Holocaust Centre
The Journey, designed by teachers, is suitable for KS2 children. It tells the story of fictional German-Jewish boy, Leo, who lives in Berlin in the 1930s. Children listen to extracts from Leo’s Diary as his story unfolds through a series of 7 rooms,including his home, school, street, family shop, hiding space, train carriage and refuge. Children will also listen to survivors’ experiences. The learning that takes place in each room has been designed to meet different learning styles and features minimal text to allow the children the opportunity to immerse themselves in the space and engage fully with the stories they’re hearing. A focus is placed on developing skills, such as historical enquiry and interpretation through object-handling, audio-visual, documents, photographs and oral accounts.
Alongside the history content, The Journey meets National Curriculum areas of PSHE and Citizenship. The exhibition does not show images that would shock or upset children.
For more information please contact Karen van Coevorden karen.vancoevorden@bethshalom.com
The Memorial Book
Produced by South Yorkshire & Midlands branch of the Association of Jewish Refugees has now been completed and will be displayed in Coventry Cathedral to mark HMD09.
The Memorial contains names of those who died in the Holocaust as given to the group by former refugees and survivors of the Holocaust who are now based in South Yorkshire and Midlands. There are also photographs and short histories included.
An A3 display copy of the book is available for use in exhibitions and HMD commemorations. For more details please contact Susanne Green on
susanne@ajr.org.uk
Faces in the Void
A joint project by poet, Jane Liddell-King and photographer, Marion Davies. It explores the impact of politics and place on past and present Jewish life from the most tragic to the redemptive.
During the Communist era which followed the Holocaust 1,564 Czech Torah Scrolls were rescued from Prague, brought to London, restored where possible and loaned around the world. The Scroll on loan to Jane’s synagogue led Jane and Marion to the small town of Pardubice near Prague where they met survivors and their families who shared their unique stories.
The resulting images and poems bring to life intersecting testimonies so that this Czech Jewish community becomes a marker for other minority communities. The audience comes face to face with both the reality of prejudice that leads to genocide and the possibility of recovery and regeneration.
For more details please contact Marion Davies on davies.marion@googlemail.com
- Jan09_Newsletter (PDF)
