Holocaust Memorial Day 2010

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Yesterday was Holocaust Memorial Day and the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. I gave an assembly in school on the topic, relating it to other genocides of the past 100 years and using resources from the Holocaust Memorial Day website (click on image below) as well as a clip from the wonderful Hilary Swank movie "Freedom Writers".




Holocaust survivor, Rabbi Hugo Gryn, wrote: “You can only be safe and secure in a society that practices tolerance, cherishes harmony and can celebrate difference.”

Think about how you treat other people. Are there certain people that you consider to be ‘different’? Be honest with yourself - do you have any hidden prejudices? Reflect for a moment, and pray that you will be accepting of everyone, no matter what they look like, where they come from, or what they believe.

A Prayer for Holocaust Memorial Day

God who is unchanging and eternal, keep before us the remembrance of the sufferings of humanity; may we not seek to forget; may we learn the lessons for the sake of our society today, and seek to lay the sure foundations of our future. As we remember the victims of the Holocaust, let their suffering inspire our desire to change our world. Amen.

2 other websites relating to the Holocaust:

http://het.venus.co.uk/content.php
http://www.irenasendler.org/

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