Today, January 27th, marks the 72nd Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day.

How can life go on? is the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2017.

As the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust comments: “The aftermath of the Holocaust and of subsequent genocides continues to raise challenging questions for individuals, communities and nations. HMD 2017 asks audiences to think about what happens after genocide and of our own responsibilities in the wake of such a crime. This year’s theme is broad and open ended, there are few known answers.”

Survivors Fund (SURF) has been involved in marking the commemoration in a variety of ways through the years. Including many of our trustees who are survivors of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda featuring at events and in films to mark the day. One such film features SURF Trustee, Liliane Umubyeyi, which resonates strongly today, on Learning from the Past:

The Holocaust ended 72 years ago, and the world then said “never again’. Less than 40 years later, one million Tutsis and a number of moderate Hutus were killed in one hundred days during the Rwandan genocide. That is why we must remember.

Thank you.