Armagh to stage Holocaust remembrance day

The Market Place Theatre in Armagh is set to stage Northern Ireland's first Holocaust Commemoration day on Monday January 27.

The event, which is being hosted by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM), Armagh City and District Council and the Belfast Jewish Community, forms part of the UK-wide memorial day. Around 300 invited guests are expected to attend the event at which the Statements of Commitment from the Stockholm Declaration of January 2000 – which was signed by 44 governments from around the world – will be read.

A spokesman for OFMDFM, said: “The Holocaust had a profound impact at the time and today, almost 60 years later, those terrible events never fail to stir the emotions. The commemoration next Monday evening offers an opportunity to understand the traumatic and violent period of the Holocaust and to reflect on other acts of large-scale genocide, which must never be repeated."

The spokesman said that the theme, ‘Children and the Holocaust’, reflects a "collective determination that such evil and barbaric acts must never again take place".

He added: "I very much hope and trust that those who attend the commemoration and associated events in Northern Ireland will draw strength from participating together while remembering the victims and the sheer helplessness and indignity of their appalling plight.”

An act of commemoration will then take place with prayers being offered during the lighting of symbolic candles. Guests will be invited to reflect on the lessons from the Holocaust and pay their respects to those who suffered and lost their lives at that time or in subsequent acts of large-scale genocide.

During the second part of the ceremony those present will listen to the tragic stories of three of the many young children who suffered during the Holocaust, a selection of poems written by children at that defining time in world history, together with music involving the Belfast Synagogue Choir and the Chamber Choir of The Royal School Armagh.

In conjunction with the commemoration in Armagh, Northern Ireland Holocaust Memorial Day will be marked by screenings of 'The Last Days' an Oscar-winning documentary by Stephen Spielberg at the Queen’s Film Theatre Belfast on 26 January and a special event for schools at 10am on 27 January.

Both screenings will be introduced by Holocaust survivor Mike Staner who is travelling specially to Belfast for the event. Mieczyslaw (Mike) Staner was born in Krakow, Poland, and survived three concentration camps and the medical experiments of Dr Mengele.

Educational workshops for schools are also taking place in the Market Place Theatre, Armagh and the Nerve Centre, Londonderry.

(GMcG)