Croydon will honour the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and genocidal events which have happened in the past 70 years with a public candle-lighting ceremony and an opportunity to sign the book of remembrance, from noon on Holocaust Memorial Day, Wednesday January 27, in the foyer of Croydon Town Hall.
The candle-lighting will be followed by a webcast civic event, from 12.30 to 1.40pm in the council chamber, to remember the millions murdered or whose lives have been changed beyond recognition during the Holocaust.
Holocaust Memorial Day is an international event marking the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau on January 27, 1945, and other, subsequent, genocides. This year’s theme is “don’t stand by”.
Eva Schloss: giving a Holocaust talk on Jan 19
Among the events being staged in and around Croydon Town Hall and the Clocktower to mark 2016’s Holocaust Memorial Day will be a talk on Tuesday, January 19, by Eva Schloss, a friend of Anne Frank before the Second World War. Anne Frank’s diary is probably the best-known record of what it was like for persecuted minorities just trying to survive during Nazi occupation.
“As we remember the victims of the Holocaust, Rwanda, Srebrenica and other atrocities across the world, the ceremony gives us an opportunity to think about how we can stand together – and not stand by – to counter intolerance and exclusion today,” said Mark Watson, Croydon’s cabinet member for communities and justice.
“The candle-lighting ceremony, held each year in Croydon, keeps the memory alive and helps unite our borough’s diverse communities in recognition of those who lost their lives to genocide.”
The council asks those who wish to attend the Town Hall ceremony to email communityrelations@croydon.gov.uk or call 020 8726 6000 extension 62530.
The events to mark Holocaust Memorial Day in Croydon are:
The death camps
Darren Wray’s grandfather never talked about his role in liberating one of the death camps in Germany at the end of the Second World War. Wray’s illustrated talk describes his personal exploration of the terrible events that occurred.
David Lean Cinema, Croydon Clocktower – Tue Jan 19, 5.15 to 6.15pm. Admission free.
Eva Schloss talk
Eva will be giving an inspiring talk about her life. She was sent to Auschwitz, along with her mother, in 1944. When the camp was liberated, they searched for her father and brother, but both had been killed in Mauthausen. Before the war, Eva had become friendly with Anne Frank and, in 1953, her mother married Anne’s father Otto.
Braithwaite Hall, Croydon Clocktower – Tue Jan 19. Balcony Bar open 6pm; talk 6.30 to 8.30pm. Admission free, but spaces limited. Book your seat here
Hidden histories
Find out about the significance of the special objects saved by six survivors from their lives before genocide.
Croydon Central Library – Sat Jan 23 to Sat Jan 31. Admission free.
Holocaust Memorial Day Civic Ceremony
Come together to remember the millions of people who have been murdered or whose lives have been changed beyond recognition during the Holocaust and in subsequent genocides.
Croydon Town Hall – Wed Jan 27, noon to 1.40pm. Admission free.
Phoenix (12A)
Movie presentation by the David Lean Cinema Campaign: Jewish singer Nelly returns to Berlin as a concentration camp survivor, following plastic surgery for a gunshot injury. The surgery leaves her beautiful yet, perhaps, unrecognisable, and she tracks down her gentile husband, Johnny. Convinced that Nelly is dead, he can see only a passable lookalike who might help him claim her property. An intriguing, suspenseful film about deception and self-deception, belief and identity.
David Lean Cinema, Croydon Clocktower – Wed Jan 27, 7.30pm.
Tickets: £8.00 (£6.50 concessions). To book, click here
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