Holocaust Memorial Day

Teesside University will be commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day with the largest regional event in the UK and a unique opportunity to visit the international Anne Frank exhibition.

Under this year's theme of 'Journeys', HMD 2014 at Teesside University brings together staff, students and local stakeholders to commemorate the Holocaust against European Jews, as well as other groups targeted for genocide during World War Two and since.

The event on 27 January at the University will include national speakers and student presentations from young people who have recently visited Holocaust sites in Poland.

In addition the acclaimed Anne Frank Trust's History for Today exhibition will be on show and open to the public from 23 January to 31 January in the University’s Constantine Gallery in Middlesbrough Tower.

This moving exhibition follows the Frank’s family journey from Anne’s birth to her death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Their story is told parallel to the rise of Nazi power in Germany and Europe. The show challenges the viewer to think about respect, human rights, democracy and diversity.

Specially trained students will be on hand to guide visitors through the exhibition and answer any questions.

The event itself begins at 9.00am and there is a keynote speech on Britain and genocide by one of the leading authorities in the UK Professor Tom Lawson, Professor of Holocaust Studies at the University of Northumbria.

There will also be an introduction to what the Holocaust was from Chris Webb, a leading expert, and UK director of the Holocaust Education and Archive Trust website and a presentation on television representations of the Holocaust by Mark Handscomb, senior lecturer in online journalism in the University’s School of Arts & Media.

Professor Gerda Roper, Dean of the School of Arts & Media at Teesside University, said: 'It is extremely important that we remember and reflect on the atrocities of the Holocaust, which represented the depths of man's inhumanity to man.

'At the University we will have some eminent speakers and an exhibition which will provide interested scholars with the unique opportunity to learn about new research on topics related to the Holocaust. The University is pleased to represent the commemoration of this day, a day that safeguards the memory of the past and imparts its meaning for future generations.'

Holocaust Memorial Day will be attended by college pupils who are studying the Holocaust but the events are also open to the public.

At lunch time there will be a special commemorative event in the Constantine Gallery from 12.30pm to 1.30pm, which will provide an opportunity for reflection and remembrance. Members of the local community will share words of remembrance before a buffet lunch is served. Guests will then be invited to tour the Anne Frank exhibition.

Although all events are free, booking is essential.

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find out more about Holocaust Memorial Day at Teesside University and book a place