No day should pass where we don’t reflect and learn both individually and collectively from the mistakes and wrongs of the past. Today, we specifically remember those who were murdered by the Nazis, including 6 million Jews, and victims of more recent genocides.

Today – and every day – we remember them.

Each year, St Peter Mancroft in Norwich gives a thoughtful and heartfelt Holocaust Memorial service. I want to thank everyone for their efforts in creating today’s virtual Holocaust memorial service. The pandemic might stop us from physically congregating, but it won’t stop us from collectively remembering and honouring those who perished.

In their online addresses during the service, both the Sheriff and the Lord Mayor of Norwich explained how the Holocaust reminds us to ‘be the light in the darkness’. This means trying to live the best life possible and ensure we are not just holding back from doing wrong, but actively trying to say and do what is right.

That’s one of the reasons Holocaust Memorial Day includes testimony from more recent genocides like Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, Bosnia and Mayanmar. This isn’t just history. This is also about today.

It’s why many of us have urged the Government to change its recent announcement to close the door on unaccompanied child refugees travelling across Europe. How can we, hand on heart, ‘be the light’, and learn the lessons of the Holocaust, if we won’t apply those lessons to the here and now?

Now more than ever, we must not forget where intolerance, hatred, and bigotry can lead to.

This then, is why we remember.

You can find out more about the government’s most recent announcement regarding unaccompanied child refugees here: https://www.independent.co.uk/…/child-refugees-legal…