{"id":38360,"date":"2014-01-30T10:43:33","date_gmt":"2014-01-30T10:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=e76ef86e814a702c4721992dae02f62c"},"modified":"2014-01-30T10:43:33","modified_gmt":"2014-01-30T10:43:33","slug":"speech-holocaust-memorial-day-trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=38360","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Holocaust Memorial Day Trust"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Journeys<\/h2>\n

So far this afternoon, we have heard about journeys punctuated with suffering,<\/p>\n

with immeasurable loss,<\/p>\n

and with the scars which still bear their memory. <\/p>\n

Journeys to a new life are by no means easier – but nonetheless I hope they have brought some healing, and the chance of a new start. <\/p>\n

This year is particularly poignant. 75 years have just passed since Kristallnacht – and as we have just heard, 20 years have passed since the start of the Rwandan genocide.<\/p>\n

Time does not stand still to allow us to remember. And as time passes, persecution and hatred remain a threat. Which is why our vigilance can never rest. <\/p>\n

As Josef Stalin said,<\/p>\n

\u201cA single death is a tragedy.
\nA million deaths are just a statistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is once day dedicated to remembrance reminds us of the people and the stories – not the statistics. <\/p>\n

The walls of the gas chambers cannot talk –
\nand the grass of the killing fields have no voice. <\/p>\n

Human experience is the best memory.<\/p>\n

Your resilience allowed you to journey on; not to forget, but to rebuild your lives again.<\/p>\n

Journey\u2019s like Ben Helf-gott\u2019s (Helfgott), who went on to captain the British weightlifting team in the Melbourne and Rome Olympics (1956 and 1960).<\/p>\n

Or like Anita Lak-sar Wall-fish\u2019s (Lakser-Wallfisch) – who believes her talent as a cellist saved her from a certain death. She went from the discomfort of playing for SS officers – to co-founding the English Chamber Orchestra.<\/p>\n

Or a journey like Kitty Hart Moxon\u2019s – who endured 2 years of concentration camp life and survived the death marches. She trained to become a nurse in Britain. Despite all she had been through – Kitty retained her humanity to care for others, and tend to the sick. <\/p>\n

Their new lives couldn\u2019t erase the past, but decades after the Third Reich, they have been victorious over the Nazis, and they are incredible achievements in the face of adversity. <\/p>\n

\n
\"Secretary<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u2018Seeing is believing\u2019<\/h2>\n

And visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau with the Education Trust is one of the most powerful ways of doing so.<\/p>\n

The Trust also brings survivors into schools, to share their testimony – and now it is falling to their children pick up the baton and ensure their legacy never fades.<\/p>\n

Incredibly, David Herman, survived 5 separate concentration camps – an experience that his daughter Julia Burton now retells in schools.
\nMaking sure her father\u2019s story, and the words of a Grandmother she never met, is never forgotten. <\/p>\n

Alongside the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and the Holocaust Education Trust – there are many other ways we combat anti-semitic, anti-muslim, and other hate crimes. <\/p>\n

The Anne Frank Trust uses her moving diary to educate others. <\/p>\n

Show Racism the Red Card has got top footballers behind it.<\/p>\n

And Tell MAMA brings unacceptable Muslim attacks to light.<\/p>\n

Their vigilant work stops the cracks of intolerance forming in today\u2019s society. <\/p>\n

Reminding people of why the holocaust happened – is something our Prime Minister truly believes in. <\/p>\n

In September, David Cameron announced the formation of the Holocaust commission. <\/p>\n

The commission will consider the best way to commemorate the holocaust for future generations.<\/p>\n

The road back to Auschwitz is taken by steps. Small acts of intolerance can be very powerful.
\nThat is why we must always be vigilant.<\/p>\n

We are lucky enough to live in a largely tolerant society. But only a thin veneer separates us from committing such betrayals. Like the anti-semitic salute by a footballer –<\/p>\n

We only need to look at recent atrocities in the Central African Republic to see – that one spark of intolerance quickly spreads to an untameable fire.<\/p>\n

Our neighbours, friends and school teachers can quickly become our enemies. <\/p>\n

Like Kemal Pervanitch\u2019s teacher – someone who he considered a role model – quickly became his torturer. <\/p>\n

Kemal has poignantly said before,<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a victim. Then I was a survivor. But all I wanted to be was a human being again.\u201d<\/p>\n

In spite of the circumstances – those who have rebuilt their lives here have made this country a richer place,
\nA more tolerant place,
\nYou make it the great country we are all proud of.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to end with a quote. One which I think captures our responsibility – <\/p>\n

In Joel 1:3, he prophesises – <\/p>\n

\u201cTell it to your children,
\nAnd let your children tell it to their children,
\nAnd their children to the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pledging to keep doing just that is what we all must do.
\nWe must continue to remember.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Speech given by the Secretary of State at the Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38360"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38360\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}