{"id":19803,"date":"2020-01-20T16:47:46","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T16:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=19803"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:54:34","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:54:34","slug":"must-learn-lessons-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=19803","title":{"rendered":"‘We must learn our lessons from history’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Holocaust Memorial Day this year on Monday (January 27) observes two important milestones \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the 75th<\/sup> anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the 25th<\/sup> anniversary of the Bosnian genocide.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Today, (January 20), Unite and other trade unions and organisations joined the London Assembly and London Mayor Sadiq Khan for the capital\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s official Holocaust Memorial Day Ceremony, which is among the first of about 10,000 events which will be held across the UK in the coming days.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The event was particularly poignant because on this very same day 78 years ago \u00e2\u20ac\u201c January 20, 1942 — Nazi plans to exterminate all Jewish people in Europe were formalised at the Wannsee conference in Berlin. These plans, which were developed over several months in secret, were known by a chilling euphemism \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the Final Solution.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speaking to UniteLive after the event at City Hall, Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner (pictured below) called it an \u00e2\u20ac\u015bemotional day\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 where those who attended heard from Holocaust survivors among other speakers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"steve

Unite AGS Steve Turner comments after Holocaust Memorial Day event at City Hall, London<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe central focus of today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s event was standing together \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which is the theme of this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Holocaust Memorial Day observations up and down the country,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turner said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bNever has that been more important than right now when we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got hate and division spreading across our communities not just here in the UK but across Europe and indeed across the globe.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He paid tribute to the six million Jewish people murdered by the Nazi regime, as well as victims in other genocides in Bosnia, in Cambodia, Rwanda \u00e2\u20ac\u015band all of those areas around the world that have seen conflict and extermination of people on the basis of difference \u00e2\u20ac\u201c different opinion, a different race or different religion\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat intolerance is spreading and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s incredibly dangerous,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe have a duty as the trade union movement to stand up against this.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Turner highlighted Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Unity Over Division campaign<\/a>, whose educational programme teaches Unite reps and members how to have conversations with friends, family, work colleagues and others to tackle far right ideologies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThrough our campaign, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve taken our message of hope and opportunity and our opposition to hate and division back into our workplaces and our communities, on the bus, down the pub,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWherever those conversations are taking place we have to be at the heart of it if we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to challenge hate and give people a real alternative to that very, very dangerous narrative led by some incredibly dangerous people right now.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Turner went on to say that Holocaust Memorial Day is an especially important day for trade unions because \u00e2\u20ac\u015btrade unionists were among the first to come under attack as the fascists came to power in the 1930s\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 with \u00e2\u20ac\u015btrade union leaders among the first to be sent to concentration camps\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

\"Badge

Badge denotes political\/trade union prisoner at Auschwitz<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhether it was the gay community, socialists, the disabled \u00e2\u20ac\u201c all of those were different or indeed could mount collective opposition to the rise of fascism were the first to be taken out by the fascists,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he noted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Given this history, Turner said it was incredibly important \u00e2\u20ac\u015bto learn our lessons from history\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Though unfortunately, he added, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOne of the lessons that we learn of course is that we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/em> learn the lessons from history. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just the reality \u00e2\u20ac\u201c given our recent history of genocide around the globe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stand up together now then we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in for an incredibly dangerous period of history yet again, not just here in the UK but across the globe.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s regions will be hosting or supporting Holocaust Memorial Day events across the UK.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On this page, UniteLive will\u00c2\u00a0list all Unite Holocaust Memorial Day events as we hear about them. Please send details of your event to unitelive@unitetheunion.org<\/a> so we can add to our listings below.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite national officer for equalities Harish Patel urged Unite members to participate in their local Holocaust Memorial Day events.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite fully supports Holocaust Memorial Day and we continue to work with Holocaust Memorial Day Trust to publicise and take action to mark this day on January 27 and beyond,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

UNITE HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY EVENTS<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

London & Eastern<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Unite’s London & Eastern region is marking both National Holocaust Memorial and LGBT+ History Month by screening the film \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Bent\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, about the persecution of gay people in Nazi Germany, on February 11. Contact Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s central office for more information.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Aberdeen<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
\n

A free event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day will be held at 12 noon on Monday, January 27 at Aberdeen Art Gallery,\u00c2\u00a0Schoolhill, Aberdeen AB10 1FQ<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>
\nSouth West<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Labour Party event\u00c2\u00a0in Cheltenham was held on January 19.\u00c2\u00a0Victoria Hart from Unite is the first speaker\u00c2\u00a0who will speak about\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0“Unity over Division” campaign<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Holocaust Memorial Day this year on Monday (January 27) observes two important milestones \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the 25th anniversary of the Bosnian genocide.   Today, (January 20), Unite and other trade unions and organisations joined the London Assembly and London Mayor Sadiq Khan for the capital\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s official Holocaust […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19804,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[225,1195],"wps_subtitle":"Unite to mark Holocaust Memorial Day with events across the UK","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19803"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19803"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24769,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19803\/revisions\/24769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}