Today we honour the approximately six million Jewish people who were murdered during the Holocaust as well as the inspiring survivors who work tirelessly to educate young people across the world about the dangers of where hatred can lead.

This Holocaust Memorial Day marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex, and the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia.

Today, I am reflecting on the testimonies of the Holocaust survivors who I have had the privilege of meeting, and my moving visit to Auschwitz in 2016 with The Holocaust Educational Trust alongside 200 school pupils from the North East.

My visit to Auschwitz was deeply moving. As I gazed out at the camp, standing alongside so many young people from the North East, I was overwhelmed by the horrors and inhumane crimes that once occurred. It is impossible to imagine the extent of the pain and suffering of those who were held in that dark place.

The visit did not just focus on the unimaginable crimes of those responsible but was also about commemorating the lives of those who perished in the Nazi concentration camps. It was important to understand that those murdered had family, friends, livelihoods – they were not just numbers.

One story of a survivor that will remain with me forever is that of Hannah Lewis MBE, who I had the privilege of meeting in 2023. In 1943, Hannah and her family were forcibly marched to a labour camp in a village named Adampol, near Wldawa. In the last winter of the occupation, German police arrived and rounded up Hannah’s mother and other villagers. Hannah hid but saw her mother shot dead, simply because she was Jewish.

As the Holocaust moves from being living history to recorded history as each year passes by, it becomes vital that we take the time to remember the victims who were tragically murdered and pay tribute to the survivors. We must remember their testimonies, and work to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

Learn more about the Holocaust at: www.het.org.uk.