21 Jersey victims of Holocaust to be remembered today

Saturday 27 January 2018

The Holocaust Memorial Day will today remember the millions who were murdered in the Holocaust – including 21 Islanders - and subsequent genocides, with a ceremony at 14:00 in the Occupation Tapestry Gallery at the Maritime Museum on the New North Quay.

This year’s Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) will be marked by the launch of the third edition of The Ultimate Sacrifice, which tells the stories of the 21 Islanders who died in German camps and prisons. It is a joint venture between the HMD Committee and Jersey Heritage.

Paula Thelwell, the Chairwoman of the Jersey Holocaust Memorial Day Organising Committee, said: "Since The Ultimate Sacrifice was first published in 1998, and revised in 2004, more archive material has been made available. It is important that the story of the 21 Islanders who died in German camps and prisons are never forgotten and we are proud to be “guardians” of their memories, working alongside our partners Jersey Heritage and the Jersey Arts Centre."

The author, Paul Sanders, a Second World War expert with a PhD in history from Cambridge University, will give the Holocaust Memorial Day Address 2018 as part of the annual commemoration on Saturday 27 January. Previous speakers have included Beirut hostage Brian Keenan, Michael Portillo and Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann.

The commemoration in the Occupation Tapestry Gallery will be followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Lighthouse Memorial to the 21 Jersey victims. The Lieutenant Governor, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton will lay a wreath on behalf of the Crown. Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq will lay a wreath on behalf of the people of Jersey and the States, and the Chief Minister, Ian Gorst, will lay a wreath on behalf of the Government of Jersey.

Wreaths will also be laid on behalf of the families of the 21, Spanish Republican Forced Workers; Jersey’s Jewish Congregation, the Island’s LGBT+ community, Royal
British Legion, British Red Cross, Jersey’s Muslim, Polish and French communities, Jersey Mencap, ex-internees and the Jersey Evacuees Association. The ceremony is open to all and anyone wishing to attend is advised to arrive before 13:30 but no later 13:45. Seats will re reserved for those who lived through the Occupation.

As part of the Island’s commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day, the Jersey Arts Centre is screening, Denial, at 20:00 on 27 January.  Denial is a British-American historical drama film based on Deborah Lipstadt’s book, 'History on Trial: My Day in Court' with a Holocaust Denier. 2

In a statement, the Jersey Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) Organising Committee said: “We believe that the purpose of Holocaust Memorial Day is not only to remember the Holocaust and all who suffered as a result of Nazi persecution, for whatever reason, but also to commemorate all those other victims of genocide, whenever and wherever it has occurred. Holocaust Memorial Day reminds us what can happen if we do not take personal and collective responsibility for tackling racism and other forms of bigotry.”