‘Be the light in the darkness’: Hackney marks Holocaust Memorial Day

Hackney marked Holocaust Memorial Day in an online ceremony this morning, at which survivors shared their stories and all were called upon to “be the light in the darkness” in memory of the genocide.

The service saw Hackney Speaker Cllr Kam Adams light a memorial candle before placing a floral wreath at the Holocaust Memorial tree with Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville at the front of the Town Hall. Music and history presentations by students of the Haggerston and Urswick schools were also heard.

Rabbi Herschel Gluck OBE, President of Shomrim, spoke to viewers of the wartime experience of his parents. Both refugees, Gluck’s father joined the British Army, and was one of the soldiers who liberated the Bergen-Belsen death camp, while his mother committed herself in 1945 to help other refugees rebuild their lives.

Gluck said: “We’re here today to commemorate one of the most terrible events in history – the Holocaust. It was a very dark time for humanity. Jews were being killed, exiled, starved, running away in fear and trepidation, and the whole of Europe either actively or passively was involved in this cruelty.

“The situation in Bergen-Belsen was beyond anyone’s imagination. Hell on earth. The survivors found it very difficult to re-establish their lives. My father felt that one of the greatest services that he had done in his life was to help these survivors resurrect their lives, to get their self-respect back, to find jobs, to rejoin humanity.

“Today we face a dark time as well. Not as dark as during the Holocaust, but dark enough. Many of us feel challenged. What can we do during this period, when thousands of people in Britain and millions of people around the world are dying?

“Covid-19 is our challenge. We have to be a light in this darkness, and we can draw inspiration from people like my father and my mother, who during the darkest of times managed to bring light, strength, happiness, hope, into the lives of so many. In Hackney today we are faced with challenges. May their lives serve as an inspiration from which we can draw courage to help others in our borough at this time.”

A presentation was given on British Hero of the Holocaust Rabbi Dr Solomon Schonfeld, which told the stories of the wartime experiences of refugees Lili Stern-Pohlmann MBE and Berta Klipstein.

Schonfeld, who was rabbi of a Hackney synagogue and kept his office at Amhurst Park, saved 3,700 Jewish children and adults from Europe and brought them to the UK immediately before and after the Second World War.

Listeners also heard testimony from survivor and educator Zahava Kohn MBE and her daughter Hephzibah Rudofsky. Kohn, who having been incarcerated with her parents at Bergen-Belsen, talks of her family’s experience at schools around the country.

The memorial was also attended by local police chiefs Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett and Commander and Superintendent Andy Port, who spoke of the efforts on the part of the forces to tackle hate crime.

Pointing to the antisemitic graffiti in the north of Hackney just before Christmas, Port said that a “really strong partnership response” to identify the suspect and bring him to justice, he has been charged with all the offences having been promptly detained and arrested.

Port added: “Hopefully this goes some way to show you how seriously we take hate crime. We remain absolutely committed to working with the community, Hackney Council, Shomrim and other trusted partners to do everything we can to fight hate crime.”

Lieutenant Colonel Roderick Morriss TD DL FRSA, the Queen’s representative to Hackney, spoke of the importance of marking the day by reinforcing the need for vigilance and moral strength, acknowledging “man’s indomitable spirit to make the world a better place for all.”

Politicians present at the event reflected on the responsibility both for themselves and for those watching to be the “light in the darkness,” the theme of the day, while urging viewers to reflect not just on identity-based persecution, misinformation, denial of justice as different kinds of darkness, but on different kinds of light, such as resistance, acts of solidarity, rescue, and illuminating mistruths.

Hackney South & Shoreditch MP Meg Hillier put out a call to viewers to be “that small light in those small dark moments we come across in a daily basis, to challenge prejudice, hatred and violence.”

She added: “I’m challenging you to be the light in the darkness. When you next hear a casual racist, sexist or homophobic comment – challenge it. When you see someone being unfairly treated because of who thye are – challenge it. And where you see violence or aggression – challenge it, if it is safe to do so. You can be the beacon of hope, the beacon of fairness, honesty and antiviolence.

“We know how genocide takes its roots. It is when one part of society is separated and treated differently from another. Having visited Rwanda and seen the aftermath of the genocide there, it is scary how easy these bad ideas are to take root.

Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville said: “Holocaust Memorial Day encourages remembrance in a world scarred by genocide. We unite across the UK to promote and support the international day on 27 January to remember the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. We remember the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

“The unprecedented times through which we are living are showing us the very best of what humanity is capable. But also in some of the abuse and conspiracy theories being spread on social media that much darker side of our world as well.

“In standing together in Hackney, we must always seek to do what we can to condemn antisemitism in all its forms and pledge to tackle division and the spread of identity-based hostility. Indeed, there is no place for prejudice or discrimination against those with any protected characteristic, such as disability, race, religion, belief or sexual orientation.

“Let’s be clear – genocide never just happens. There is always a set of circumstances which occur which create and build that climate where atrocities can take place. Today, together, we gather to learn lessons from the past to create that safe and better future. Together we bear witness for those who endured the Holocaust and genocide and honour the survivors and all those whose lives were changed beyond recognition.”

Hackney Speaker Cllr Kam Adams said: “Together we will mark this solemn occasion by remembering the horror of the past for a purpose, mindful of the challenges of the present and in the future. Although online, we stand together to remember the importance of this day in all our lives. We will reflect on our own responsibilities as local politicians, as faith leaders, as representatives of organisations, and as individuals with choices over how we react and how we relate to others in our community.”

You can read the Statement of Commitment – Read by Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville, Urswick School student Bruno Pereira De Barros, Urswick alumnus Yasmin Hanson, North London Branch of the Council of Christians and Jews Ivor Millman, Ita Symons MBE, Cllr Harvey Odze, and Cllr Susan Fajana-Thomas, here.

You can watch the ceremony in full here.