Holocaust survivor Jan Goldberger was guest of honour at a multi-faith Holocaust Memorial Day event held at Islington's Assembly Hall on Tuesday 26 January.
The 82-year-old escaped death in five labour camps in Poland, Germany and Czechoslovakia from 1942 - 1945, after being separated from his family and put to work making ammunitions and laying railways.
Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) is commemorated internationally on 27 January each year, marking the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945.
HMD commemorates the victims and survivors of the Holocaust including Jewish people, disabled people, Roma and Sinti, gays and lesbians and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The victims and survivors of other genocides including Bosnia, Darfur and Cambodia are also remembered.
Cllr Ruth Polling, Islington Council's Executive Member for Equalities and Diversity, who joined others in reading a statement of commitment. She said:
"The words of Jan Goldberger and others today make us thankful for the fact that Islington is a tolerant place.
"But we cannot take that for granted. Every member of our community has a role to play in challenging the sort of attitudes and behaviours that threaten our communities.
"Today, we make a commitment to build a safer and stronger borough by rejecting all forms of dangerous prejudice, the building blocks of genocide."
The day provides an opportunity to learn about the Holocaust and to highlight the continuing dangers of racism, anti-semitism and all forms of prejudice and discrimination in our community, the UK and the world.
Jan Goldberger spent the winter of 1942/43 in Plaszow camp - featured in the movie Schindler's List about the life of Oskar Schindler. He said:
"People have called me a hero but the truth is I survived the camps through sheer luck. I feel it's now my duty to tell my story - if not me then who else? There's so few of us left.
"My whole family set off on a 2 week walk for the Russian border but we never made it. The last time I saw my family was 1942.
"Life in the camps was terrible - all we thought about was food. At the end, the Germans tried to eradicate all traces of what they were doing but they weren't quick enough."
Following a special reception in The Mayor’s Parlour with guest speaker Mr Goldberger and his wife Sarah, the Mayor introduced the HMD event featuring addresses by Bosnian refugee Zrinka Bralo, St Aloysius School, The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) and a hip-hop performance by Jewish Muslim collective 'Lines of Faith'.
Protecting people's human rights and promoting their opportunities is a key part of Islington's Equality and Cohesion Charter which ensures everyone in the borough has an equal chance in life and discrimination is tackled at every level.
NB: The Islington HMD event is the day before International Holocaust Memorial Day, 27 January.
ENDS
Page Last Updated: 23 February 2010