Holocaust Memorial 2018 events - Glasgow Remembers

A host of events are organised this week as part of the annual national Holocaust Memorial with hundreds of school pupils from across Glasgow taking part or attending.

The theme for this year's Holocaust Memorial Day 2018 is The Power of Words and how language has been used in the past and how it is used in the present day.

We all know that the phrase 'sticks and stones can break my bones but names will never hurt me' - we also know how untrue this is.

Words can wound and maim and stay with you for life - words can create a toxic atmosphere in our society - and words can be a force for good.

As Anne Frank wrote in her diary, 5 April 1944: "I want to go on living even after my death! And that's why I am so grateful to God for having given me this gift, which I can use to develop myself and to express all that's in me. When I write I can shake off all my cares; my sorrow disappears; my spirits are revived."

These are elements that Glasgow pupils have been exploring in their schools and will be a thread running through all events in the city this week - from the special exhibition from Rostov-on-Don covering the 1942 massacre an on show at Glasgow Caledonian University to the annual Glasgow Schools' Holocaust memorial event at the City Chambers this Friday, 26 January.

Events

The following events are planned and media are invited to come along or call for further information:

Tuesday 23 January - 11.45am, Glasgow Caledonian University, Hamish Wood Foyer - Lord Provost Eva Bolander will join pupils from St Roch's Secondary school to get the first glimpse of a poignant and world class exhibition by Dr Christina Winkler from Rostov-on-Don that depicts the massacre in 1942 when 27,000 inhabitants perished at the hands of the Nazi Germans. Representatives from Gathering the Voices will also attend.

Wednesday 24 January - 5.30pm - 8.30pm, Glasgow Caledonian University - Scottish National Holocaust Memorial event organised by Interfaith Scotland, Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and Glasgow City Council. First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon will join a host of guests from around the country for an evening of reflection with guest Christina Winkler and Julia Atlas from Rostov-on-Don. School pupils will also present music and dramas based on the holocaust and worldwide genocide atrocities.

Thursday 25 January - 9.30am, St Mungo Museum - For the third year St Mungo's Museum is partnering with Holyrood Secondary School to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, both are pleased to welcome pupils from St Andrew's Secondary School who are participating for the first time. The theme of the event is 'The Power of Words' and the group have built the project around the thought-provoking statement; In these troubled times it is our duty to use the power of words to speak out against fear, hatred and oppression.

Those attending will hear from two speakers, including Julia Levy whose grandfather was one of the 25,000 people murdered in Rostov-on Don during the Holocaust. Together with partner organisations the project will also engage up to 80 P7 pupils, encouraging them to explore the lessons of The Holocaust and subsequent genocides and reflect on how they can combat and challenge hate crime in their community.

Friday 26 January - 10am - 12 Noon, Banqueting Hall, Glasgow City Chambers - Annual Glasgow Schools and Community event with hundreds of school pupils gathering for this memorial and reflection event. Julia Atlas, visiting from our twin city of Rostov-on-Don will tell of her personal loss of five family members in the city's 1942 Second World War massacre when almost 27,000 men, women and children were killed by the German military.

Mon 22 Jan - Fri 26 Jan - City Chambers foyer - Glasgow Caledonian University Gathering the Voices exhibition featuring the testimonies of men and women who found sanctuary from Nazi-dominated Europe in Scotland are being preserved in an online project that can be accessed by everyone. The testimonies can be heard online http://www.gatheringthevoices.com

Glasgow Caledonian University's (GCU) Dr Angela Shapiro is one of the founders of the charity, which records the moving stories of Holocaust survivors and Jewish people who fled their homes and re-established their lives in Scotland.

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