Holocaust Memorial Day

Resource type: Event

Price band: £

Key stage: KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4, KS5

Region(s): All of UK

Holocaust Memorial Day takes place annually on the 27th January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp.

On Holocaust Memorial Day we remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of people from other groups persecuted and killed by the Nazis and the victims of more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. It is an occasion for everyone to come together to learn, remember, reflect and consider what action we can take to stand up to hatred, discrimination and racism in the world today.

The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 is ‘Fragility of Freedom’. The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust has created a number of resources for primary and secondary schools that can be used to explore the theme and support teaching and learning:

Theme Vision document that looks at different way to interpret this year’s theme.
Guidance documents to support teachers as they deliver Holocaust and genocide education to students of different ages and abilities.
Teaching resources for primary, secondary and SEND students, including life stories, ideas for assemblies and activities for tutor time.
An online HMD map of schools taking part in Holocaust Memorial Day.

Cost: Free

About the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust: The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is a charity established and funded by the UK Government to promote and support Holocaust Memorial Day in the the UK.

Further resources:

Find ideas on how to use the resources provided by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust to explore this year’s theme – ‘Fragility of Freedom’ – in this blog.
Award-winning author Tom Palmer and the National Literacy Trust have produced a set of literacy resources for pupils aged 9-14 to help schools commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. The resources are designed to be used throughout the week beginning Monday 22nd January, culminating in a free online event with Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich on Friday 26th January. Resources include a new story by Tom Palmer, videos and worksheets to support pupils’ writing. Free with registration and available to download from week commencing 8th January.
For books that explore the events surrounding the Holocaust, see BookTrust’s booklists for UKS2 and teenagers.
Find more book suggestions for pupils in KS2 – KS5 from LoveReading4Kids.
Fritz and Kurt is a retelling of the international bestseller The Boy Who Followed his Father into Auschwitz for young readers aged 9+. To accompany the book, author and historian Jeremy Dronfield has created a free comprehensive guide for teachers and parents with background information, prompts for discussion and links to further teaching resources to enable them to support young readers and help them get the most out of reading the book.
Find teaching notes from the experts at Just Imagine to accompany Michael Rosen’s The Missing: The True Story of My Family in World War II here. You can also listen to Michael talking about the book on this In the Reading Corner podcast.
The National Holocaust Centre and Museum has developed a free app for iPad that follows the journey of Leo, a young German Jewish boy living in 1930s Berlin. The app is aimed at children aged 9+ and there are accompanying lesson plans.
The UCL Centre for Holocaust Education has a suite of lesson plans for pupils aged 11-14 based around Tom Palmer’s novel After the War.
The Holocaust Educational Trust offers free resources to support both primary and secondary teachers, including their flagship resource Exploring the Holocaust for pupils aged 11-14.
LGfL, working with partner organisations such as The Wiener Holocaust Library, has created a portfolio of resources to support the delivery of Holocaust Education.
BBC Teach has a range of resources to support Holocaust Memorial Day for primary and secondary schools.