Holocaust Memorial Day marked in South Yorkshire
People across South Yorkshire have gathered to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, remembering the millions of people killed during WW2 and thinking about what lessons we can learn for the future.
The day also honoured those killed in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
A public event was held in All Saints’ Square in Rotherham, where school children, community leaders and the public came together to mark the occasion.
The event – which took on the theme ‘Don’t Stand By’ – was hosted by the Mayor of Rotherham, Cllr Maggi Clark. Students from Oakwood High School read out quotes from survivors of the Holocaust and sang songs.
Hallam’s Chief Reporter Laura Pennington was at the event:
A candlelit vigil was also hosted in Sheffield’s Winter Gardens, where short films telling the story of survivors were aired.
Among those speaking at the event was Sue Pearson, 87, who came to Sheffield as a refugee from Prague on the Kindertransport with hundreds of other children.
She told Hallam about her experiences: “It’s difficult to remember just how you do feel at the age of 11. Our parents said to us ‘you go and we’ll follow’, and I think we all believed that. Most of us never saw our parents again because of course the Second World War started.
“I was one of the 669 children saved from the Holocaust by one man, Sir Nicholas Winton, who did not stand by.
“In the space of 10 months, 10,000 other children were taken in by Britain. They avoided the fate of the 1.5 million children who were put to death in the Holocaust.”
Sue believes current attitudes to the situation affecting Syrian refugees now demonstrate the need for her to continue sharing her story:
“It makes me feel incredibly sad and angry at the same time that human beings are still doing this to each other. It’s very difficult to comprehend.
"I do believe that the great majority of people would far rather stay at home getting on with their own lives. Life must become impossible for them before they decide to start making the journeys that they’re making.”