LONDRES (EJP)--- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that the "unimaginable suffering" of the Holocaust “must never be forgotten.”
In a personal message to mark Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK, the Prime Minister expressed his hope that acts of remembrance would inspire people “to build a stronger and more tolerant society.
January 27th marks the day on which the Aushwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was liberated in 1945.
“Events such as Holocaust Memorial Day were an important way of combating the "politics of hate", Brown said.
Brown said: “Holocaust Memorial Day communicates our conviction that the politics of hate will not triumph, and it symbolizes our resolve to safeguard the future by understanding the past.”
"I hope that one of our reactions will be to build strong and caring communities that reject hatred, and enable individuals from every background and creed to realize their full potential."
Brown explained the importance placed on education about the Holocaust by the government, citing a 1.5 million pounds (more than 2 million euros) funding programme for the Holocaust Educational Trust's "Lesson's from Auschwitz" programme and the compulsory teaching of the Holocaust to all 11-14 year olds in British secondary schools.
In an article in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Brown recounted the efforts of two Britons whose lives were caught up in the events of the Holocaust.
Charles Coward, an army sergeant-major, saved more than 400 Jews from the Auschwitz gas chamber by helping them to escape at night. Jane Haining, a Scottish missionary, defied Nazi orders to abandon Jewish children in her care and was charged with "Working with Jews. She died in Auschwitz in August 1944.
Liverpool marks Holocaust Memorial Day
More than 1,600 people, including survivors of the Holocaust and more recent genocides, attended Sunday an official service at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
The programme included personal testimony from survivors and relatives, poetry, music and speeches.
The event in the European Capital of Culture falls on the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
Among the personalities who attended the event in the European Capital of Culture were the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, UK’s Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Hazel Blears.
More than 2,000 schools across the UK hold events to mark the day.
Christine Shaw, of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust said: "On Holocaust Memorial Day, we reflect on the lessons society can learn from the Holocaust and other genocides in an effort to tackle the intolerance and prejudice that still exists in the UK today.
"There has been huge interest from all over the UK and it is wonderful to see the commitment of so many sections of society in marking the day."
"The fact is that racism still exists, that genocide is taking place in Darfur, and genocide has happened since the Holocaust, for instance Cambodia and Rwanda," said Holocaust Educational Trust chief executive Karen Pollock. "This is an opportunity for people to come together and say 'never again' and mean it and act upon it."
This year, for the first time, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the largest Muslim umbrella organization in the UK, was involved in Holocaust Memorial Day after having boycotted the event, claiming the day did not reflect other genocides.
Last year, the MBC decided to put an end to the six-year boycott which started with the inauguration of the memorial day in 2001.
The boycott had been subject to harsh criticism by the British government and Jewish organizations, and MBC was often accused of anti-Semitism.
