Blog

Holocaust Memorial Day is an important opportunity for schools to reflect on the impact of prejudice, discrimination and hatred. Marked each year on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the day encourages pupils to learn from the past and consider how we can create a more inclusive future.

The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2026, Bridging Generations, highlights the importance of engaging young people in remembrance and ensuring that the lessons of history continue beyond those who experienced it first-hand. To support this, we have worked with our Mash Partner, YIVO, to create a set of age-appropriate Purple Mash resources for Years 5 and 6, linked to their online exhibition “Beba Epstein: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Girl”.

Holocaust Memorial Day with Purple Mash

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) takes place every year on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. It is an international day to remember the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust and the millions of people murdered under the Nazi persecution of other groups and in more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. HMD is an opportunity for everyone to learn about the past and take action to create a safer future.

We were privileged to partner with Lanchester Primary to host Sigmund 'Sigi' Ciffer to share his story with not only pupils from the school, but over 100 pupils, teachers and parents from 25 schools across the North East of England.