HMD candles
These beautiful commemorative candles can be lit on Holocaust Memorial Day as part of our Light the Darkness national moment.
Holocaust Memorial Day
What is Holocaust Memorial Day?
OOEJ
We have added the story of Kindertransportee, Ellen Rawson, to the Ordinary Objects Extraordinary Journeys website.
News and blogs
We explain the importance of teaching children about HMD and showcase the school resources we created in partnership with 2Simple.
HMD 2024: Fragility of Freedom
Discover the themeThe Holocaust and genocides
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
Yvonne Bernstein
Yvonne Bernstein was one of thousands of Jewish children hidden across Europe during the Holocaust. Her identity disguised, she was able to survive, avoiding the fate of 1.5 million Jewish children who were murdered.
Catherine Duleep Singh
Catherine Duleep Singh was a Sikh Princess who grew up in Norfolk. She helped Jewish Families escape Nazi Germany and is sometimes referred to as the ‘Indian Schindler’.
Smajo Bešo OBE
Smajo Bešo has seen the worst and best of humanity. After surviving the horrors of the genocide in Bosnia, he found refuge and safety in the UK where he now proudly embraces his Bosnian roots and new-found Geordie identity.
Antoinette Mutabazi
Antoinette Mutabazi is a child survivor of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. She endured a harrowing 90-day period, hiding from the killers who murdered many of her family members.
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
Lesson plan for custodial settings
This set of worksheets and PowerPoint introduces teachers and learners to six different genocides through a key date, the experiences of one person, and the story of one artefact. The final worksheet explores more current issues around discrimination, here in the UK.
Creating a Green Memorial for HMD
This resource, developed in collaboration with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Campaign for School Gardening, offers ideas for primary and secondary school students to use plants to commemorate the Holocaust, Nazi persecution of other groups and more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
Youth Forum Societies Toolkit
The Youth Forum Societies Toolkit has been created to provide you with ideas about how your university society, club or group can engage with Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD). We hope this guide will help you to find a way to mark the day in a meaningful way and look forward to hearing about your event or activity!
Henry Wuga MBE: Reflections for Burns Night
This resource is designed for Scottish secondary schools to mark HMD while supporting and complementing Burns Night celebrations. Read the story of Henry Wuga MBE who was born in Germany in 1924 and escaped the Holocaust by coming to Scotland on the Kindertransport. He made a home in Scotland and developed a love for Scotland's national bard Robert Burns.