Testimonies from those who have suffered horribly under cruel regimes will be at the centre of Swansea’s commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day.
On Thursday January 27, Swansea Lord Mayor Cllr Richard Lewis will be hosting special events to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2011 in the City and County.
This year’s theme is Untold Stories and readings of testimonies from those who have witnessed genocide first hand form a central part of Swansea’s commemorations.
Lord Mayor Cllr Lewis will lead a candle lighting ceremony at the close of the civic event.
He said: “Swansea is Wales’ first City of Sanctuary due to its history of offering sanctuary to people who have fled from violence or persecution.
“It is therefore only fitting that Swansea Council joins many other Local Authorities throughout the UK to support and promote Holocaust Memorial Day.
“We must never forget what happened and why it should never be repeated.
“I am sure that the testimonies of those who have suffered such cruelty will be very moving. It will also reaffirm our belief that this should not have happened then and we must do all we can to ensure it stop it happening again.”
At the civic event in the Lord Mayor’s reception room the Holocaust Testimony of Anita Lasker Wallfisch will be read by Norma Glass. Cllr Mary Jones, Cabinet Member for Business Improvement and Efficiency, will read the Cambodian Testimony of Denise Affonco.
Gwenda Jones, Manager of the Council’s Traveller Education Service, will read the testimony of gypsies who suffered in the Holocaust.
Swansea has marked Holocaust Memorial Day since it was launched in the UK in 2001.
January 27 was chosen as the date for HMD nationally because it was on this date in 1945 that the largest Nazi killing camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated.
But the day is about remembering the victims and those whose lives have been changed beyond recognition not only as a result of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution but also because of subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and Bosnia as well as ongoing atrocities today such as Darfur.
Holocaust Memorial Day aims to honour the survivors but also to inspire people to look at their lives and communities today to learn lessons of the past to create a safer, better future.
Further details on Holocaust Memorial Day nationally are available at www.hmd.org.uk
