MPs Praise Survivors, Lessons from Auschwitz in Holocaust Memorial Day Debate
Members of Parliament paid tributes to the work of the Holocaust Educational Trust on Thursday 19th January 2012 during a debate in Westminster Hall to mark the upcoming Holocaust Memorial Day. The Backbench Business Committee debate, which was secured by Gavin Barwell (Croydon Central) addressed many issues concerning the legacy of the Holocaust in our society today.
Many members contributred though-provoking comments to the debate including Andrew Stunnell (Hazel Grove) for the Government and Jack Dromey (Birmingham Erdington) for the Opposition -- both of whom drew links to contemporary issues of racism and subsequent genocides.
Several other members spoke about the imapct of taking part in the Trust's Lessons from Auschwitz Project along with students in their constituencies. They included Heidi Alexander (Lewisham East), John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness), Stephen Lloyd (Eastbourne), Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North), Graham Evans (Weaver Vale), Bob Blackman (Harrow East), Julie Hilling (Bolton West) and Matthew Offord (Hendon).
Ian Austin (Dudley North) commented on the the "privilege" of meeting survivors including Zigi Shipper, Ben Helfgott, Mala Tribich and Joanna Millan, "who survived the concentration camps and went on to rebuild".
Concluding the debate, Barwell spoke of the message that such a debate sends: "We will not let the memory of what happened during the Holocaust fade. We will go on confronting the evil of racism, because to do otherwise would be to betray the memory of the lives ripped away by the Nazi regime."
Watch the video below to see the debate in its entiret. Click here to read it in print or to hear BBC news coverage of the debate on "Today in Parliament" click here..