- Government to provide free entry for all visitors to the
proposed new national Memorial and Learning Centre, in
perpetuity.
- Commitment ensures everyone can pay their respects,
contemplate and honour, the six million Jewish men, women and
children who were murdered in the Holocaust and all other victims
of Nazi persecution.
- Announcement puts the new national memorial on a similar
footing to the most important monuments and museums in UK.
The government will provide free entry, in perpetuity, to
everyone visiting the proposed new Holocaust Memorial and
Learning Centre, Communities Secretary announced today (28 January 2021).
Giving universal free access to the memorial puts the UK on the
same footing as the most important monuments and museums and will
reassure Holocaust survivors their testimony will be freely
available to all when they are no longer able to tell the story
themselves, forever.
The Memorial, which is planned to be built next to Parliament in
Victoria Tower Gardens, will be the focal point for national
remembrance of the six million Jewish men, women and children
murdered in the Holocaust and all other victims of Nazi
persecution.
The learning centre will be a world-class facility, giving
visitors powerful and engaging experiences to learn about the
Holocaust and subsequent genocides through a variety of mediums
including historic photographs, film footage and audio
recordings.
Government support will supplement funds raised from visitor
donations and other charitable contributions to cover the running
costs of the Memorial and Learning Centre which, subject to
planning permission, is expected to open in 2024. The government
has already announced that it will contribute up to £75 million
towards construction costs, to be supplemented by £25 million
from charitable donations.
The Communities Secretary also announced a further £25,000
funding to support the work the Wiener Library does in using its
archive to bring closure to families who lost loved ones during
the Holocaust.
Communities Secretary Rt Hon MP said:
Free entry, in perpetuity, to the proposed UK Holocaust
Memorial and Learning Centre will mean that there are no
barriers to people commemorating and learning about the evils
of the Holocaust and is keeping with our national tradition of
free entry to monuments and museums of great national
significance.
As first-hand testimony from survivors becomes rarer and rarer,
it is incumbent on all of us to be their witnesses. The
Memorial will serve as a continual reminder to us all of why we
need to make a stand against antisemitism, racism and hatred,
whenever and wherever we find it – something that this
government will always do.
and Lord
, Co-Chairs of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation,
said:
This is the clearest demonstration of the Government’s
commitment to addressing Holocaust Remembrance. Free access
will widen the visitor base and enable the centre to extend its
message and work to a greater range of people. The centre will
work closely with other institutions, both national and
international, to tackle Holocaust denial and Antisemitism.
Marie van der Zyl, Board of Deputies of British Jews President,
said:
We welcome the news that entry to the proposed Holocaust
Memorial and Learning Centre will be free to all visitors. We
thank the government and the Secretary of State for this
important announcement.
UK and international visitors will now have the opportunity to
discover the truth about the Shoah, genocide and the dangerous
places to which racism leads.
We hope this will increase understanding; help stop the lies
and falsehoods surrounding this terrible period; and enable us
all to confront prejudice wherever it is found.
Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive, Holocaust Educational Trust,
said:
The Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre will do immeasurable
good for Holocaust education and remembrance in this country
and I am delighted that it has been confirmed that this
important resource will be accessible to all. We must ensure
that the horrors of the Holocaust are never forgotten, and that
its lessons are learnt for generations to come.
Sir Ben Helfgott MBE, Holocaust survivor, said:
The Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre will ensure that the
memory of those who perished in the Holocaust are never
forgotten and that the testimonies of those who survived are
protected and remembered. These are fundamental to conveying
the lessons of tolerance and understanding.
