Holocaust Memorial Day 2012

The haunting central chamber at the Yad Vashem holocaust memorial in Jerusalem

IT SEEMS that every day of the year is now attached to a cause; certainly, any cause worthy of the name appears to have a day attached to it. But, 67 years to the day since the death camp at Auschwitz was liberated, few can be as poignant or as enduringly necessary as Holocaust Memorial Day.

Thankfully, in Wales, Holocaust Memorial Day has not been forgotten. On Monday, over 200 people were at an event at Cwmbran Stadium, including First Minister Carwyn Jones, local MP Paul Murphy, Council Leader Bob Wellington and other Welsh politicians, local groups and members of the public. All were united in remembering the horrors of the Holocaust and pledging to ensure that such evil is never allowed to repeat itself. Fittingly, given that latter aim, they were joined by a survivor of a Serbian concentration camp, Kemal Pervanic, who told his own moving and disturbing story. Importantly, local children were also involved, as part of efforts by the Holocaust Educational Trust to ensure that the lessons of the genocide are learned by our young people.

“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it.  He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really operating with it.”

Of course, stop anyone in the street and ask them about Auschwitz and they will almost certainly react with condemnation and disgust. Yet in parts of Europe, the stench of anti-Semitism lingers and needs confronting. In Britain, we can be more optimistic, yet our debate on prejudice still needs a radical overhaul. Too much of it flies over the heads of the majority of people, remaining dangerously polarised between well-intentioned liberals and far-right headbangers. Too often, it is removed from considerations of how to win the argument down the pub, in the playground or with ‘white van man’. Too often, those criticising prejudice based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation are dismissed as ‘PC gone mad’ by the wider public. Consequently, there is the danger of ‘low-level’ prejudice gaining fresh roots in our society – unless we are willing to change tone.

We need a new anti-prejudice argument that reaches beyond the core of trendy, right-on middle class lefties and articulates more effectively why prejudice is wrong. We need to reassert the values that made Britain strong enough to stand up against the hatred of fascism in World War Two - particularly reinforcing the belief that that bigotry, like fascism, just isn’t British. We need to argue that discrimination is not only morally wrong, but that it also makes no sense – not least socially or economically. Why would a sensible business discriminate against an employee or applicant based on anything other than their ability to do the job well?

At the moment, too much of our thinking is based on an over-reliance on the concept of virtue. The common narrative is that Nazi Germany, for example, allowed the Holocaust to happen because it lacked virtue as a society. Societies that define themselves as more virtuous can therefore look down upon those that allowed such events to happen and glow in their sense of moral superiority. This breeds a dangerous level of complacency. Any glance at the history books shows such smugness to be misplaced. Look at the slave trade, the ravages in the name of empires the world over, Rwanda, Darfur, Srebrenica, the Opium Wars or the Nanking Massacre: no country or society can comfortably luxuriate in its insurmountable virtue. Instead, we must be more humble. All these terrible events show the depths to which humanity can sink if the conditions encourage us. No society is perfect or immune to evil and prejudice.

Indeed, politics itself is not immune. Sections of the right can seek popularity by sailing close to the wind in the way some of our less reputable newspapers do, using groups of ‘outsiders’ as scapegoats for wider social or economic problems. Some on the left can drift into lazy anti-Isreal sentiment, allowing  legitimate scrutiny of the actions of a government to be confused with negative setiment towards its people.

Events of the past month should stiffen our resolve. The conviction of two racist thugs, who murdered an innocent man because of the colour of his skin. Examples of prejudice re-appearing on our football pitches. No-one would compare the latter example especially to the horrors recounted above, and indeed in football’s case, the extent of the problem cannot be compared to twenty years or more ago. But they do show that we must always be on guard for signs of bigotry taking root. It is no coincidence that incidents amongst high-profile players have leaked onto the terraces, even at a club like Liverpool who have a very good anti-racism record. We cannot be complacent, and need to ensure that the conditions to which people react with prejudice are not allowed to ferment. We must take the argument that discrimination is wrong out from our comfy dinner parties and back onto the streets, to the terraces, to the places we work and to the pubs and clubs that we drink in.

We recognise that the Holocaust shook the foundations of modern civilisation. Its unprecedented character and horror will always hold universal meaning.

We believe the Holocaust must have a permanent place in our nation’s collective memory. We honour the survivors still with us, and reaffirm our shared goals of mutual understanding and justice.

We must make sure that future generations understand the causes of the Holocaust and reflect upon its consequences. We vow to remember the victims of Nazi persecution and of all genocide.

We value the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives to protect or rescue victims as a touchstone of the human capacity for good in the face of evil.

We recognise that humanity is still scarred by the belief that race or religion or disability or sexuality makes some people’s lives worth less than others. Genocide, anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and discrimination still continue. We have a shared responsibility to fight these evils.

We pledge to strengthen our efforts to promote education and research about the Holocaust and other genocides. We will do our utmost to make sure that the lessons of such events are fully learnt.

We will continue to encourage Holocaust remembrance.  We condemn the evils of prejudice, discrimination and racism. We value a free, tolerant and democratic society.