Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) has been marked in the UK since 2001, with thousands of events and activities taking place in and around 27 January every year. It is a day for us all to remember those affected by genocide and ensure future generations do not repeat such acts of atrocity again.

This Sunday, residents and staff are once again invited to attend the annual ceremony to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, which this year is themed around ‘the power of words’. The event takes place at the Rickett Quadrangle at Middlesex University’s campus in The Burroughs, Hendon, on Sunday 28 January. The memorial service will begin at 1pm, but people are asked to take their seats by 12.45pm; doors open at midday.

The day will begin with the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Brian Salinger, councillors and dignitaries taking part in a procession into the quadrangle ahead of commemorations. There will be music from the Barnet Band, The London Cantorial Singers and the Alyth Youth Singers.

This year’s speakers will include Det Chief Superintendent Simon Rose – Met Police Barnet Borough Commander, Professor Tim Blackman – Vice Chancellor Middlesex University, Mr Simon Bentley – Chair of Yad Vashem UK Foundation, as well as students from Woodhouse 6th Form College who have visited Auschwitz and will make the Barnet Statement of Commitment.

At the end of the service, students from the Akiva School will hand out Snowdrop bulbs as part Barnet’s project to plant a snowdrop in memory of every one of the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust. So far 48,000 bulbs have been planted at schools around the borough since the initiative began.

The Mayor of Barnet says: “Holocaust Memorial Day gives us the opportunity to think about all those people who have lost their lives in the Holocaust and in other atrocities.”

The theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day 2018 is ‘The Power of Words.’

Words can make a difference – both for good and evil –   ‘I want to go on living even after my death! And that’s why I am so grateful to God for having given me this gift, which I can use to develop myself and to express all that’s in me. When I write I can shake off all my cares; my sorrow disappears; my spirits are revived.’  Anne Frank, written in her diary, 5 April 1944.