Holocaust Memorial Day

Liz McInnes Excerpts

Thursday 18th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

It is an honour to speak in this debate and to follow the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine) and my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North West (Alex Sobel), who spoke so movingly. I do not think anybody in this House can fail to have been moved by his personal testimony, so I thank him for that. I also thank the hon. Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy) for securing this debate and the Backbench Business Committee for granting it. I also thank the Holocaust Educational Trust for the work it does in ensuring that as many people as possible, from every background in the UK, are aware of the holocaust and particularly of its contemporary relevance.

The HET has shared some amazing pieces of writing from survivors and victims, which really show the theme of this year: the power of words. One poem that particularly struck me was written by a survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Avram Schaufeld. He wrote:

“Do not ask

How did you survive?

Because this is a question that causes me pain

and brings back memories…

I know that you mean well and are sympathetic

and would like me to talk to your youth group

or your son who is writing a paper on the Holocaust

and I could help him with this subject which is part of his exams

You add with a smile, that no amount of reading is the same

as talking to a survivor

From your eager expression I can guess

what you expect me to tell him

About our bravery and how our faith in God

helped us to survive…

I lie and say that I am too busy

that I have other commitments

and quickly take my leave and turn away

so that you cannot see the hurt in my eyes

Do not ask me why”.

Avram Schaufeld was the only member of his family to survive the holocaust. His poem addresses the theme of words from a rather different perspective and articulates his understandable reluctance to talk about the horrors of his past. But each year there are fewer and fewer survivors of the holocaust, and we must be grateful to all those who have gifted us their memories and testimonies—their words live on.

In my constituency of Heywood and Middleton, we will be gathering together on the evening of Monday 29 January at Heywood civic centre for a commemoration service to remember victims and survivors of the holocaust, Nazi persecutions and other worldwide genocides. This event has been organised by Rochdale Multi-faith Partnership, whose stated aim is to challenge religious prejudice and misconceptions, to promote justice and cohesion, and, recognising the theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day—the power of words—to encourage open and respectful dialogue. In the borough of Rochdale, where there are sadly some who seek to divide our diverse communities, I cannot overstate the fantastic work done by Rochdale Multi-faith Partnership in bringing communities together in a spirit of mutual understanding, including those of no faith. I am hoping to attend the ceremony myself, but I will be subject to the power of the words from the Whips Office on that particular date.

In conclusion, we must never forget the lessons from this horrific part of recent history. Only today we heard in this Chamber about a report on the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh and Burma, and we must redouble our efforts to end this humanitarian crisis, which has been described by the UN as a “textbook” case of “ethnic cleansing”. We must all remember the lessons of the holocaust and never forget that evil triumphs when good men and women do nothing.