It is the day for everyone to remember the millions of people who have been murdered, or whose lives have been changed beyond recognition, during the Holocaust, under Nazi persecution, and in the subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. On Holocaust Memorial Day we honour the survivors of those regimes and challenge ourselves to use the lessons of their experiences to inform our lives today.
When Hitler came to power in 1933, trade unionists were amongst the first groups to be targeted for persecution by the Nazi regime. Their values were at odds with the Nazi vision of an authoritarian state, and the dismantling of organised labour helped pave the way for the authoritarian regime to carry out industrial-scale murder.
In May 1933 all German trade unions were shut down. Their leaders were arrested and sent to concentration camps, including Gustav Schiefer, who was imprisoned at Dachau and testified against the Nazis after the war.
Today, trade union members continue to speak out and combat hatred, prejudice and discrimination. Holocaust Memorial Day offers trade unionists a great opportunity to continue to do our part to create a safer, better future by learning the lessons of the past. And for many trade union members, Holocaust Memorial Day is an opportunity to highlight and celebrate our ongoing antifascist work and other campaigning against hatred and discrimination.
The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2018 is The power of words. Spoken and written words from individuals, corporations, community organisations or the state, can have a huge impact, whether good or bad. The theme for HMD 2018 explores how language has been used in the past, and how it is used in the present day.
To find out more about HMD, and to download free resources, visit hmd.org.uk
