HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY, 27TH JANUARY 2004

11.04.38am GMT Wed 21st Jan 2004

Commenting in advance of Holocaust Memorial day, on the 27th of January, local MP Paul Keetch said:

"Holocaust Memorial Day is an important day of remembrance across the whole country. It encourages us not only to reflect on the universal lessons that we have learned since 1945, but also those we still need to consider. The theme of this year's event From the Holocaust to Rwanda: Lessons Learned, Lessons Still to Learn highlights this.

"The Holocaust and the acts of genocide that have followed and preceded it must not simply become pages in history books. They are real and terrible events that should continue to send us a warning, and we must remember them and learn from them - as philosopher George Santayana said "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it"."

Holocaust Memorial Day will see schools, universities and local communities throughout the country remembering the millions of victims murdered by the Nazi regime during the Holocaust - victims including Jews, disabled people, Roma and Sinti (Gypsies), gays, blacks, and political opponents.

Mr Keetch said: "I always recall the powerful words of Pastor Martin Niemoller, living in Germany at the time: 'First they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the communists and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me - and there was no-one left to speak out for me.'

"The words remind us of a collective responsibility to challenge discrimination and that sentiment still holds true today. Remembering all those that died and trying to understand how such terrible events happened are perhaps our best way of making sure that they never happen again."