Richard Baum

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day, when ceremonies will be held across the nation to remember the millions of victims of the Holocaust.

Bury MBC’s own ceremony is tomorrow in Radcliffe, and I will be there together with lots of other Councillors and community representatives.

I think that days like today, and ceremonies like tomorrow’s here in Bury, are absolutely vital. It’s not just about looking back and remembering the victims of an unimaginable horror. It’s about looking around us today, thinking about our own communities and how we get along with each other. It’s about learning from the past and recognising that intolerance and prejudice are not acceptable and can lead to awful things.

It’s so important that we learn from the past, and come together as a community to make sure that nobody is a victim of racism or discrimination based on anything but their actions and the strength of their character. And I hope that it’s not just the people locally who heed this message, but those in positions of power across the world. It is heartbreaking that even 62 years after the liberation of the concentration camps, there are still campaigns of ethnic and religious terror taking place across the world. Even whilst the survivors still walk amongst us with their stories to tell, we haven’t learned the lessons and are still making the same mistakes. Days like today give us the opportunity to reflect, and I hope we take that opportunity.

Rick