First Minister has asked Wales to stand
together and celebrate difference as the world marks the
75th anniversary of the Holocaust.
He joined Holocaust survivor Dr Martin Stern and Cardiff
Council leader at a national service of
commemoration today (Monday January 27) at Cardiff’s City Hall
to remember all those who were persecuted and killed during the
Holocaust and other genocides around the world.
The service marked 75 years since Auschwitz was liberated and
25 years since the atrocities of Srebrenica in Bosnia. The
service also follows last week’s order from the UN to prevent
the genocide of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
Other community leaders, representing people murdered in the
Holocaust – including LGBTQI, gypsy and traveller, disability,
race and faith groups – stood shoulder to shoulder at the
event.
The First Minister said:
“Today is a painful day and I thank Dr Stern for using his
touching story to remind us all about the power of tolerance.
“The Holocaust is a shameful event in history, which we must
remember forever. It happened, like all genocides before and
since, because people’s differences were used to whip up
suspicion and drive divisions through society.
“We must stand together. We must celebrate our differences.
And we must believe there is more that unites us than drives
us apart. It’s the only way to make sure these sorry events
stay exactly where they belong – in the history books.”
The First Minister signed the Book of Commitment, paying
tribute to the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. In
signing, he pledged to honour Holocaust Memorial Day.
The Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr , said:
“Cardiff has a proud history of being a diverse and welcoming
city. Now more than ever, it is important that we stand
together to uphold these traditions by protecting unity and
fighting division.
“The 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau
makes today’s Holocaust Memorial Day particularly poignant.
Today we honour victims of genocide and remember that
persecution still happens today. In remembrance we must take
the opportunity to ensure such terrible acts of brutality
never happen again.”
The event was the first in a busy schedule for Dr Stern, who
will be greeted by schools, Welsh Muslim Cultural Foundation,
prisons and other groups across South Wales over the coming
week.
Having escaped Germany before the war, Dr Stern’s mother died
shortly after giving birth to his younger sister, Erica. His
Jewish father died in Buchenwald concentration camp, after
spending time in Auschwitz.
In Amsterdam, Dr Stern and his sister were taken in by Dutch
families, close to where Anne Frank hid. Dr Stern’s teacher had
denied his attendance at school when soldiers came looking for
him, but as an innocent five-year-old, he reached his hand up
in the air and said, ‘But I am here’.
The walled ghetto of Theresienstadt would be the final
destination for many who were sent there. But Dr Stern and his
sister survived to see the fall of the Nazis.
The children were united with their aunt, who had found refuge
in the UK, where Dr Stern has lived ever since. He became an
immunologist and an expert in asthma. Now 80, he devotes his
time to promoting education and tolerance.
Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial
Day Trust said:
“We are pleased to be working once again with the Welsh
Government to help people across Wales learn about the
Holocaust and more recent genocides.
“We are delighted that so many students and community groups
have the opportunity to hear from Dr Stern. His experiences
are a powerful reminder of the consequences of unchecked
discrimination and hatred, and should encourage us all to
stand together against identity-based hostility of any kind.”
Students Lydia Lisk and Ella Rowlands, from Cardiff High
School, shared their experience of a school visit to Auschwitz
as part of the Holocaust Education Trust’s Lessons
from Auschwitz project, which is supported by the
Welsh Government.
The exhibition 75 Memorial Flames has been created by community
groups to remember those who lost their lives during the
Holocaust. Nine of the memorial flames were developed by groups
in Wales, including entries from HM Prison Cardiff Art Group,
Merthyr Tydfil Central Library, and the Association of
Voluntary Organisations in Wrexham.
The 75 Flames exhibition will go on tour across the UK and will
be available to view in Cardiff in February. A selection of the
memorial flames will be on display in the Senedd this week
until 29 January.
