King Charles and Camilla met with two genocide survivors – one from the Holocaust and another from Darfur – at Buckingham Palace this morning. After speaking with the two survivors, the royal couple lit a candle to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp.
The theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is Ordinary People.
It has three themes, that genocide is faciliated by ordinary people, ignored by ordinary people and persecutes ordinary people.
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust highlights that ordinary people often turn a blind eye to genocide, as they believe the propaganda presented by the murderous regimes.
The website states: “Ordinary people were perpetrators, bystanders, rescuers, witnesses – and ordinary people were victims.”
Last year, Charles – who was the then-Prince of Wales, commissioned seven portraits of Holocaust survivors for display at Buckingham Palace.
Each of the people who featured in the portraits had received honours for services to Holocaust awareness and education.
Speaking at the time, Charles said: “As the number of Holocaust survivors sadly, but inevitably, declines, my abiding hope is that this special collection will act as a further guiding light for our society, reminding us not only of history’s darkest days but of humanity’s interconnectedness as we strive to create a better world for our children, grandchildren, and generations as yet unborn; one where hope is victorious over despair and love triumphs over hate.”
More to follow…
