Holocaust Memorial Day, this year guided by the theme ‘Bridging Generations’, will be commemorated with an event at Poole’s Lighthouse theatre.
Hosted by the Bournemouth and Poole Holocaust Memorial Committee on Sunday January 25 from 2pm to 4.30pm, the event will begin with an act of commemoration. Those gathered will hear from two speakers; Maisie Kiff will share her recent experience of taking part in the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz Project for schools and colleges. The main speaker, Melvyn Leach, will then recount the story of his relative, Willy Halpert, a ‘hidden child’ in Belgium during World War II.
International Holocaust Memorial Day remembers the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust alongside the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution, and genocides that have followed. It takes place each year on January 27 – the date in 1945 when Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, was liberated.
At the heart of these commemorations are the voices of survivors and individual testimonies, Lynda Ford-Horne, a member of the Bournemouth and Poole Holocaust Memorial Day Committee, explains:
“These first-hand accounts connect us to the past in a way no textbook ever could. But with every passing year, there are fewer survivors able to share their stories. It is vital that the darkness of the Holocaust and the lessons it holds for all of us are never forgotten.
“Bridging Generations, the theme for HMD 2026, highlights the crucial role of the next generation. It is a call to action – to listen, to learn and to carry those lessons forward. In doing so, we build a bridge between memory and action, between history and hope for the future.”
The HMD event at Lighthouse will begin with an act of commemoration – seven candles lit by adults and seven young people reading from the Holocaust Memorial Day Statement of Commitment. Reflecting the Bridging Generations theme, one of the candlelighters is a Holocaust survivor, while his daughter will be one of the readers.
The main speaker, Melvyn Leach, is a representative of Generation 2 Generation (G2G), an organisation that supports descendants of Holocaust survivors to share their family stories.
Melvyn will share the story of his relative, Willy Halpert, using filmed testimony to describe Willy’s survival as a hidden child in Belgium.
Willy was born in France in 1933 to a Jewish family and saw his father arrested on a Belgian street because of his faith. His parents were later murdered by the Nazis, but Willy’s life was saved by the Belgian Resistance, who changed his name and hid him.
Willy had no idea what happened to his family and was only reunited with his three sisters when he was 14, after the war had ended. They were sent to Australia as refugee orphans. Willy later moved to Israel and now lives in Canada.
Willy never spoke about his past and forced himself to forget terrible memories. With Melvyn’s help, he researched archives in Belgium and visited the places where he was hidden to help him remember his story. Willy remains closely connected to Melvyn’s family.
Speaking prior to Melvyn’s talk will be Maisie, who will share her experience of taking part in the Lessons from Auschwitz Project last academic year as a sixth-former at St Edward’s School, Poole.
This experience-based course for post-16 students explores the universal lessons of the Holocaust and incorporates a one-day visit to the Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. It concludes with the Next Steps Project, encouraging students who have taken part to use their voices to honour the memory of the Holocaust and to confront rising antisemitism.
Tickets for the HMD event on Sunday, January 25, are free but must be reserved in advance from the Lighthouse booking office: 01202 280000 or via the website www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/book-online/1015601/
A suggested donation of £5 via BACS, cash or card will enable the committee to continue its work. Account: Bournemouth and Poole Holocaust Memorial Day Committee (business account) Sort code: 30-91-08 Account Number: 29336460
The Bournemouth and Poole Holocaust Memorial Day Committee is formed of volunteers from diverse sections of the community. Representatives include members of various faiths and worldviews, ethnicity groups, ages, genders and the LGBT community.
The committee organises the local annual Holocaust commemorative events, which honour survivors of the Holocaust, Nazi persecution, and subsequent genocides; and enables local communities, alongside the joining of political and religious leaders, to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
