Activity map
Whether you're organising an online or in-person activity for Holocaust Memorial Day, add it to our interactive map to become part of the national picture for HMD.
Holocaust Memorial Day
Register for 2021 UK Ceremony
Watch the UK Ceremony
Register here to receive a link to watch the UK Ceremony for Holocaust Memorial Day 2021. This will be our first fully digital ceremony. Join the nation to watch it live at 7pm on 27 January.
News and blogs
Not sure how to mark Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) this year? Here are five simple ways that you can mark HMD in 2021, from hosting an online event, to joining the nation to #LightTheDarkness.
HMD 2021: Be the light in the darkness
Discover the themeThe Holocaust and genocide
Holocaust Memorial Day is the day for everyone to remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution, and in the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.
The Holocaust
Between 1941 and 1945, six million Jewish men, women and children were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. Their attempt to murder all the Jews in Europe, shook the foundations of civilisation.
Nazi Persecution
The Nazis targeted anyone they believed threatened their ideal of a ‘pure Aryan race’, including Roma and Sinti people, disabled people, gay people, political opponents and others.
Cambodia
From 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, imposed an extremist programme to reconstruct Cambodia. Millions of people died through starvation, disease and exhaustion, and thousands were executed.
Rwanda
In a violent outpouring in 1994, approximately one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered in just 100 days in the Genocide in Rwanda.
Bosnia
In July 1995, against the backdrop of an ongoing civil war, Bosnian Serb forces led by Ratko Mladić murdered around 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the town of Srebrenica.
Darfur
In 2003 a civil war began in the region of Darfur. Arab militia, known as the Janjaweed attacked black African people, destroying entire villages, murdering civilians and displacing many more.
Life Stories
The experiences of Holocaust and genocide survivors, as well as those who were murdered, give us a unique insight into the lives of those who have endured persecution.
Explore our collection of Life Stories
El Sadiq ‘Debay’ Manees
When Debay was a child, government militia attacked his village. He spent years living in a refugee camp and was forced to flee when he was condemned to death.
Denise Uwimana
Denise lost many of her relatives in the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. She survived, but faced a difficult journey to forgive her neighbours who had murdered her family and stolen from her home.
Nisad ‘Šiško’ Jakupović
Nisad is from Prijedor in Bosnia. He was imprisoned in the notorious Omarska Concentration Camp with four of his brothers in 1992.
Var Ashe Houston
Var’s life was changed forever in 1975, when Cambodia’s genocidal Khmer Rouge regime forced her family from their homes and into slave labour.
Featured resources
Holocaust Memorial Day Trust provides free resources for everyone to get involved with Holocaust Memorial Day. From lesson plans and assemblies to poems and films, our resources will help you organise meaningful activities for Holocaust Memorial Day.
Discover our resources
HMD Book Club Activity
This activity provides a list of suggested books for activity organisers to choose from, guidelines on how to run your book club meeting and questions for discussion. It can be used by any Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) activity organiser including schools, colleges, universities, youth groups and workplaces.
Hosting a Virtual Cook-Along Activity for Holocaust Memorial Day
Cooking together is an engaging way of learning about cultures and celebrating the lives of people who were murdered during genocide. In this activity, using digital technology, your organisation or community group can learn, cook and eat together, even while apart.
Hosting a ceremony for Holocaust Memorial Day
Every year for Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD), moving ceremonies are held across the country and give communities the opportunity to learn, reflect and remember together. Using our virtual HMD ceremony resource pack, you can bring your community, colleagues or organisation together, even while we are apart.