Holocaust Memorial Day: meaning behind the day, and events happening across Glasgow

Holocaust Memorial Day is seen as a day for education, commemoration and reflection.

Holocaust Memorial Day is held on 27th January every year, which is the date when the death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, was liberated in 1945.

It is a day to remember all the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, of Nazi persecution, and of subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.

Holocaust Memorial Day first took place in 2001, in which a UK ceremony and thousands of local activities took place all across the UK, and has continued to do so since.

This year’s theme for Holocaust Memorial Day, set by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is ‘One day’.

Which aims to open up a conversation looking at how a single day can change your life as a victim or survivor of genocide and persecution, and how we can keep telling the stories of genocide victims and survivors.

Here is where you can pay your respects in Glasgow.

Memorial events

Interfaith Commemoration

Thursday 27 January, 6:30PM - 8:30PM.

Interfaith Scotland is hosting an in-person Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration at our interfaith dialogue centre in Glasgow.

The event will run as follows:

6.30 pm: Registration and Kosher Refreshments7.00 pm: Live-streaming of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust online commemoration8.00 pm: The National Moment8.05 pm: ‘One Day...candle lighting ceremony’8.30 pm: 5 Minutes silence

It will also be possible to join the event online. If joining online, participants will be sent the link to watch the National HMD commemoration at 7pm, and you can then join Interfaith Scotland via Zoom for the national moment and candle-lighting ceremony. Sign up for the online event here.

Address: Interfaith Scotland, Flemington House, 110 Flemington Street, Glasgow, G21 4BF

You can sign up for the event here. Find out more here.

St. Mungo’s Museum in Glasgow

This school brought together local schools for a youth-led HMd event.

Secondary students used what they learned about the Holocaust to run HMD events for primary school kids.

Follow this link to watch the film on the event.

University of Glasgow

The 22nd Holocaust Memorial Lecture will take place today.

If you would like to be added to the mailing list for the event series, contact [email protected].

If you can’t make these events, you can remember the six millions lives lost by lighting a candle to honour the victims. More information on it can be found here.