1/6 Normally on #HolocaustMemorialDay I don't have a minute to sit down because we're all running around trying to sort things out for the ceremony. So this year has been an unusually reflective HMD, and all the more emotional for it.

2/ One of the many ideas we tried to capture with this year's theme, #BetheLightintheDarkness, is the importance of combating denial, distortion and relativisation of genocide, by shining a light on history but also by challenging the darkness and hatred of deniers

3/ I've had the privilege of hearing many Holocaust and genocide survivors' testimonies. One experience that always stands out is the first time I heard Dr Martin Stern speak - you can watch an interview we made with him a couple of years ago here https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/an-interview-with-holocaust-survivor-martin-stern/

4/ Martin told us that he spends a great deal of time cross-checking dates & details of the key events in his story. He does this not for his own satisfaction - it's a deeply upsetting job. He does this because he knows that any minor discrepancy will be pounced upon by deniers.

5/ This was, for me, almost as heart-breaking as the story itself. Can you imagine bearing that much pressure? Knowing that your story, told in your own words, could be used against you and others who were subjected to the worst of human behaviour?

6/ But it's fundamentally unfair that survivors take on this burden, and they won't always be able to. It is incumbent on all of us to challenge denial and distortion wherever we see it, even if it's uncomfortable, even if it's our friends or family.
#LightTheDarkness