We all have a responsibility to stand up to hate

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale MSP and Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray MP are marking the day.

Kezia Dugdale said:

“Over 70 years ago, the concentration camp at Auschwitz was liberated and the world saw the full consequences of the Nazis’ hate and intolerance. Six million Jewish men, women and children were murdered during the Holocaust. Despite saying after the Holocaust, “Never Again”, the world has watched subsequent genocides take place in Darfur, Rwanda, Bosnia and Cambodia.

The Holocaust ended in the ‘final solution’ but it began with everyday abuse and assaults targeted at Jewish people simply because of their religion. This year the theme of Holocaust Memorial Day is ‘Don’t Stand By’. It is a reminder to people that great hate can grow from the small acts of unkindness and injustice we witness in our everyday lives and that we all have a responsibility to stand up to them.”

Ian Murray will attend the UK National Commemorative Event in London. He added:

“It is right that each year we stop to remember those who were killed in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. Today I will join survivors from across the UK as they remember their family, friends and loved ones who were murdered because of hate and intolerance.

Many of the people who will attend today fled Europe and came to the UK in search of refuge and a better life. We should be proud that we welcomed people to this country – children and adults – when they needed our support. Our country has – and should continue to have – a proud tradition of not standing by when people are in need.”

The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust has released a short video. It’s worth watching to the end.

Find out more about Holocaust Memorial Day 2016 here.

6 thoughts on “We all have a responsibility to stand up to hate”

Proud to see these unequivocal statements from Kez and Ian.

Stunning video.

While these statements are to be welcomed, I find it disturbing that many victims of this inhuman activity appear to have been ignored.
There were at least 11 million people murdered, not the 6 million quoted.

It wasn’t just Jews who were murdered, but Roma Gypsies ( discriminated against still), Slavs ( considered sub-human), homosexuals, Soviet POW’s, Jehovah Witnesses, Communists and Trade Unionists, physically and mentally impaired people.

Nor did it start with “everyday abuse and assaults targeted at Jewish people”, though they were undoubtedly the prime victims by the end.
It started with the murder of the mentally and physically impaired in the early 1930’s. It escalated to homosexuals and other so-called “deviants”.

Much of this early activity escaped censure in Western countries as the “science of eugenics” had many adherents, not least in the USA and the UK.