Service in Sandwell to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2024
Sandwell Council will mark Holocaust Memorial Day with a special service on Sunday 28 January to be held from 11am – 12 noon in
the Memorial Gardens at Highfields House, High Street, West Bromwich. The service is open to everyone, and attendees are requested to arrive at Highfields House (Sandwell Register Office) by 10.40am.
Light refreshments will be served afterwards. Former Mayor of Sandwell, Dr Ann Jaron, will speak at this year’s service, talking about her grandfather, Professor Marian Gieszczykiewicz. He was arrested during the Second World War for running an underground university and providing medical services in the Krakow ghetto. He was taken to Auschwitz where he was murdered in July 1942. Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January) is a day for everyone to remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, under Nazi persecution, and in the genocides that followed in places including Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 is Fragility of Freedom which focused on how genocides restrict people’s liberty, as well as reminding us that freedom should never be taken for granted. Sandwell is holding its Holocaust Memorial service on the closest Sunday (28 January) to Holocaust Memorial Day. His Worshipful the Mayor of Sandwell, Councillor Bill Gavan, said: “Holocaust Memorial Day is a time for us to remember the millions of people murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust, as well as those killed in more recent genocides such as in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. “We are honoured to have Dr Ann Jaron as our keynote speaker, as she pays tribute to her grandfather’s actions in the face of tyranny. Remembering such bravery is so important, inspiring us to speak out against discrimination and hatred.”