On Sunday I attended the Borough Holocaust Memorial Day at the Rickett's Quadrangle in Middlesex University.
Living in a Borough with a large and prominent Jewish community, especially in Finchley, I have many Jewish friends and neighbours. The history and horrors of the Holocaust are not new to me, but every time there is a discussion, there is always some horrific new aspect brought to bear. I'm glad Andrew Dismore whilst MP for Hendon managed to introduce this event, as it keeps the memory and understanding alive.
We are of course, not a million miles away from that kind of hate today. I have been surprised by the anti Semitic comments I hear around and about, and death and genocide are still very much in the news. I was heartened to hear from the Albanian Charge d'affairs about the positive role Albania played in saving Jewish people during WWII, especially as he is from a part of the world that saw serious ethnic volinence only in the last 15 years.
There were some excellent performances and speeches from some inspirational young people, and I'm glad that they too are developing an understanding of what happened.
