International Holocaust Memorial Day was marked this week, as always falling on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz death camp in 1945. In previous years, our community have marked this hugely important day of remembrance, tolerance and education of genocide around the world, with a variety of events. Last year, I went to the New Park Cinema in Chichester where we watched the harrowing film, ‘Enemies of the People’, unveiling the accounts from the killing fields of Cambodia that wiped out a quarter of the country’s population. The year before, the former Speaker, and I, hosted a performance of the community opera PUSH in Parliament. It told the incredible true story of Simon Gronowski, who at 11, was pushed from a moving train bound for Auschwitz by his mother in a desperate, and ultimately successful, attempt to save his life, though sadly not his family’s.
This year we weren’t able to mark the day as normal, however, thanks to the local group, Chichester Marks Holocaust Memorial Day, chaired by Clare Apel, we held an online service, that I was honoured to speak at. This year we paid tribute to my predecessor, John Abel-Smith MP, who served as the Member of Parliament for Chichester and Midhurst over a period of 40 years. He was the focus of our thoughts as his promotion of religious tolerance and acceptance was instrumental to the sitting of the first Jewish MP in the House of Commons, Lionel De Rothschild. Helping to pass legislation allowed the already elected De Rothschild to take the Oath of allegiance, required by all MPs to sit in the chamber, over a Hebrew Bible.
His promotion of tolerance broke down a barrier not just for his Jewish friend and colleague, but for all those of all faiths that followed. Truly the best of Chichester’s spirit that I know lives on still.
I know schools up and down the country are also unable to commemorate the day as normal, but many are planning special assemblies online to mark the occasion. Closing our schools and colleges was unavoidable and I know how difficult it is for parents, children and students. I want to assure you that reopening them is our number one priority in the Department for Education. The Government is looking at all the options to continue education in person as soon as possible, whilst ensuring any changes protect the NHS and don’t hinder our efforts to curb the spread of the virus. Our schools and colleges have done a fantastic job adjusting to this challenging period, and I want to thank all our teachers for how they’ve risen to the challenge time and again!