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 murdered under Nazi persecution of other groups and during 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 2025 is ‘For a Better Future’. 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.
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 (HMD) in the the UK.
Further resources:
- Sign up for the National Literacy Trust’s free online commemoration event on 27th January. The event is suitable for pupils aged 11-14 and features award-winning author Tom Palmer in conversation with Holocaust survivor Alfred Garwood and Antoinette Mutabazi, child survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
- Download teaching resources from the National Literacy Trust to help schools commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day with pupils aged 10-11 and 11-14. New resources include bespoke video content created by author Tom Palmer, teacher guides, reading recommendations and non-fiction writing activities. All resources free to access with the NLT’s free membership.
- 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 available to download. Schools can buy class sets of the book at a 50% discount between 7th January and 13th February 2025 from publisher Barrington Stoke.
- Explore a range of Holocaust Memorial Day resources created by Tom Palmer for previous years on his website.
- 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 and KS3 from Just Imagine.
- Download free teaching notes created by Just Imagine to accompany Michael Rosen’s The Missing: The True Story of My Family in World War II. You can also listen to Michael talking about the book on this In the Reading Corner podcast for teachers and librarians.
- 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 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 2025 for primary and secondary schools.
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