Keep the Memory Alive Holocaust Memorial Day 2015

Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration – organised with care and dignity I had somewhat low expectations for the Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration held on 27 January at Central Hall Westminster, for obtaining tickets for it was rather like drawing water out of a stone. In the event, I was deeply impressed by the care and dignity with which the event was organised. The reception for the survivors that preceded the commemoration in the main hall was done thoughtfully and elegantly. The appearance of virtually all the party leaders (thankfully with the exception of UKIP, I think) at some of the small tables laden with sandwiches and biscuits showed how seriously it was taken nationally. It so happened that the Prime Minister, whose Holocaust Memorial Commission was responsible for the event, happened to sit at our table and it was a humbling experience to be sitting next to three camp survivors. The commemoration itself was brilliantly and movingly staged, with excellent speeches (the Chief Rabbi, the Prime Minister and Prince Charles foremost among them) and appropriately solemn and beautiful music and poetry as well as survivor testimonies. To relax after all that with a glass (or two) of some very decent wine was the icing on the cake. The organisers are to be congratulated on an event that did justice to the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. We may not see the like of it again. Leslie Baruch Brent