‘One Day’
Holocaust Memorial Day is held annually on the 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex of camps in 1945. Over 1 million Jewish men, women and children lost their lives in these camps. In total, over 6 million were murdered during the Nazi persecution.
We acknowledge the other ‘genocides’ that have taken place during the 20th century: Armenia (1915), Cambodia (1975 – 79), Rwanda (1994), Bosnia (1992 – 95), Darfur (2003 – present) and those who are still facing terror and persecution.
We welcome Mrs Hanneke Dye, who is our special guest speaker.
Mrs Hanneke Dye
Hanneke was born into a Jewish family, in Nazi occupied Holland, in 1943. A sympathetic doctor, realising the peril the family were in, hid her in a vacuum cleaner box for her safety. She went on to spend the first two years of her life in hiding.
The family were living with her Uncle Jeep when the Nazi’s raided the house. Fortunately for Hanneke, she was fast asleep in the vacuum cleaner box and was not discovered.
For her safety, Uncle Jeep managed to move her to a nearby Catholic Children’s home where she was looked after by a lady named Aunt Pop. This move saved her life. Whilst she was reunited with her parents after the war, tragically her grandparents were murdered in the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex.