On 5 December, the Foreign Secretary sent a video message to the
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance London plenary.
"Memory works in strange ways.
Some moments stick, even as others fade away.
I can clearly remember hearing testimony from Holocaust survivors
now living in my own constituency over many years as a Member of
Parliament.
I can clearly remember visiting Yad Vashem on multiple occasions,
including in my first full week as Foreign Secretary.
And I can clearly remember discussing the Holocaust with my
children, as they learned of its horrors at school.
Societies' memories can fade too.
That's why Holocaust remembrance matters so much.
Today, a new generation is coming of age.
The last survivors are leaving us.
All while hateful Holocaust distortion and antisemitism is
rising,
Exploiting new technology and conflicts in the Middle East to
peddle hate and lies.
I started this job in July.
I did not agree with every one of my predecessor's decisions.
But I strongly supported his work as Prime Minister on Holocaust
remembrance.
And this Government has been grateful for the work he and have done to prepare to
deliver our IHRA Presidency.
The theme of the UK's Presidency was important. ‘In Plain
Sight'.
From 1930s street violence to trains criss-crossing Europe at the
Holocaust's peak.
Nazi oppression of the Jews and their other victims took place in
plain sight.
As Hannah Arendt wrote, circles of responsibility encompassed all
of society,
From those who actually carried out murders, to those who gave
Nazi ideas outward respectability.
IHRA's work helps our societies to grasp this central fact.
Just in recent months, we have seen sixty-nine school projects
undertaken in fourteen countries – focused on the forms the
Holocaust took in pupils' hometowns.
My Ministerial colleague, Ray Collins, visited Slovakia in
September, joining events in Bratislava and a former labour camp.
And in October, Romania hosted the first of a growing number of
conferences on AI, Holocaust distortion and Holocaust education,
as agreed at the Glasgow plenary.
We are a grateful to all those who have supported our Presidency.
Particularly thanks to Doctor Meyer, finishing her time as
Secretary-General.
I wanted to end by paying tribute to Yehuda Bauer.
You all know his role in authoring the Stockholm Declaration
twenty-five years ago.
His commitment over many years as a scholar and Honorary Chairman
was exemplary.
I hope at this plenary, and in the years to come, the Alliance
will continue to play the role that he championed.
A united front for remembering the Holocaust.
Thank you."
