We're in danger of forgetting the Holocaust |
On October 7, 2023, more Jewish people were murdered in a single day than at any time since the Holocaust. It’s a grotesque irony then that the war in Gaza – triggered by the Hamas-led massacre of 1,200 people in Israel – should be the catalyst for a sharp fall in the number of schools taking part in Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD).
The Holocaust, even for those committed to its memory for religious, personal, or humanitarian reasons, demands grappling with the incomprehensible
Yet the figures are unambiguous. In 2023, more than 2,000 secondary schools signed up for HMD events, according to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. By 2024, around 800 fewer schools took part and another 350 dropped out in 2025. The decline is brutal and unequivocal.
The irony is compounded by the theme of HMD 2026 – ‘Bridging Generations’ – a call to pass remembrance and the lessons of the Holocaust to future generations.
That school educators would deny their pupils the chance to participate in a collective act of remembrance for one of the bleakest moments in human history is not only incongruous; it is morally indefensible. Reframing HMD as a political hot potato to justify its removal from the school calendar not only deprives young people of vital lessons about antisemitism, it sets a dangerous precedent. Treating the........