Holocaust Memorial Day 2014: Journeys

UCU commemorates Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) observed annually on 27 January, in the memory of the millions who were murdered in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides in Bosnia, Cambodia, Darfur and Rwanda in order to challenge hatred and persecution in the UK today. Holocaust Memorial Day offers an opportunity for reflection on past atrocities and the chance to come together to create a safer, better future.

The theme for 2014 is Journeys, looking at the experiences of those affected by the Holocaust and subsequent genocides characterised by forced journeys. Many of these journeys ended in death: persecutors forcibly moved huge numbers of people - in trains, cattle trucks and on death marches from homes in villages and towns and across countries and then there are the stories of those who survived to bear witness to the atrocities.

Journeys to safety: memories of the Kindertransport

We are pleased to release our second short film to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. Prior to World War II, many children made journeys through Europe to escape the Nazis and the growing wave of anti-Semitism. The memories of those who travelled to safety as part of the Kindertransport programme are shared. The film also marks the 75th anniversary of the Kindertransport programme (1938-2013).

The first transports left Berlin on 1 December 1938, the last left Germany on 1 September 1939. In all, nearly 10,000 mainly Jewish children escaped certain death had they remained in Nazi-occupied Europe.