Northwood Holocaust Memorial Day Events
Northwood United Synagogue
The Northwood Holocaust Memorial Day Events Committee would like to thank guest speakers, facilitators,
volunteers, Rabbi Dr. Moshe Freedman, co-ordinators and everyone involved in making the week such a success.
Three comments from students - Watford Grammar School for Girls " A very powerful and humbling speech.
Thank you for allowing me to listen to your story first hand, it has taught me about the specific events that
occured during the Holocaust and was much more informative and interesting as well as hard hitting, that simply
reading about it in a history text book would not have done."
From Haberdasher's Aske Girls School quote "As a Jew I have heard many many stories about the Holocaust -
everytime I learn something new and feel more emotional. As you talked of your past I could not even explain the
gratefulness I feel about my childhood. In all honesty, your story broke my heart. It will never be forgotten".
Hertswood School Borehamwood "You have inspired me and have challenged my behaviour for the future. There
was a question I wanted to ask but was too shy! If you saw racial discrimination happen in front of you, how would
you react? Have you had a chance to forgive?"
Sharman Berwald, Barbara Cohen and Marsha Schultz
volunteers, Rabbi Dr. Moshe Freedman, co-ordinators and everyone involved in making the week such a success.
Three comments from students - Watford Grammar School for Girls " A very powerful and humbling speech.
Thank you for allowing me to listen to your story first hand, it has taught me about the specific events that
occured during the Holocaust and was much more informative and interesting as well as hard hitting, that simply
reading about it in a history text book would not have done."
From Haberdasher's Aske Girls School quote "As a Jew I have heard many many stories about the Holocaust -
everytime I learn something new and feel more emotional. As you talked of your past I could not even explain the
gratefulness I feel about my childhood. In all honesty, your story broke my heart. It will never be forgotten".
Hertswood School Borehamwood "You have inspired me and have challenged my behaviour for the future. There
was a question I wanted to ask but was too shy! If you saw racial discrimination happen in front of you, how would
you react? Have you had a chance to forgive?"
Sharman Berwald, Barbara Cohen and Marsha Schultz
What is HMD?
On 27 January 1945, Russian troops liberated the largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau. In 2001, the British Government designated 27th January as an annual remembrance of this event and invited people to reflect, either individually or in groups, on the Holocaust and other genocides.
It was hoped that awareness and understanding of the events of the Holocaust and other subsequent genocides would be kept in the minds of people not necessarily of the Jewish faith so that they would realise how easily such a tragedy might happen again. To this end, people would be encouraged to oppose racism, discrimination and persecution and to acknowledge the dignity of difference.
Members of Northwood United Synagogue decided in 2002 that we would hold an annual Event in conjunction with the Northwood & Pinner Liberal Synagogue and that we would pursue the aims of Holocaust Memorial Day through education aimed at secondary school students from Hillingdon and neighbouring Boroughs.
The NHMDE (Northwood Holocaust Memorial Day Events) has grown year by year ever since, proving to be so popular with schools that we have between 1,700 and 2,000 students attending from 35 schools this year. With this number, it was impossible to confine our programme to one day and it currently runs over four days, students attending for a half-day session at one of the two synagogues in Northwood in addition to satellite sessions at Bushey United and Borehamwood & Elstree United Synagogues. Morning sessions run from 9.30am to 12.00 midday and afternoon sessions from 1.00pm to 3.30pm at both Northwood synagogues. Times may vary slightly at other synagogues.
The national day has a theme which changes each year. Northwood, too, has an annual theme, although not necessarily the same one as the national theme. In 2010, the NHMDE will take place from 1st – 4th February and the theme will be ‘ASK…ANSWER…ACT’. We need to ASK in order to understand; we can be educated and informed to ANSWER questions; we will find the right way to ACT. We wish to focus on educating the students about the Shoah. The aim of the workshop is to give the students and teachers some understanding and context about the Holocaust, to prepare them for hearing a Holocaust survivor in terms of how fortunate they are to meet and hear someone who had been through such trauma, and for the students to feel they have made a personal connection with this dreadful event in our history. They will have an opportunity to look at some of the artwork painted by Holocaust survivor Hans Jackson.
Students will be welcomed by Rabbi Dr Moshe Freedman, attend a workshop run by a trained facilitator where they will be prepared to hear a Holocaust Survivor, a camp survivor or a former Kindertransport child. The talk will be followed by a Question and Answer session and a closing address from the Rabbi. This year our guest speakers in Northwood are Steven Frank, Hannah Lewis, Irka Reichmann, Bernard Verstandig, Ziggi Shipper, Freddie Knoller and Elfrida Starer.
NHMDE has brought together a varied group of people who have one thing in common: they are passionate about ensuring that the atrocity that was the Holocaust is never forgotten.
A committee oversees the strategic organisation of the Event, and a mini ‘army’ of volunteers run workshops, prepare materials, provide refreshments at appropriate times for participants and generally ensure that the Event runs smoothly. We are grateful to all these volunteers who help us in so many ways;
to our kind and generous sponsors, the London Borough of Hillingdon, AJR,
Hertsmere Borough Council, Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue and Northwood United Synagogue.
If you would like to have more information, or should you wish to be involved in this very important venture, visit the NHMDE website at http://www.northwoodhmd.org.uk. Should any secondary schools wish to book please contact Michelle Wilder on 0845 6448006 for a booking form or e mail her on bookings@northwoodhmd.org.uk.
For the 2010 program including a full explanation of HMD and it's cross-communal approach, please download the following program. Download (4MB).
The 2010 dates are Monday February 1st to Thursday February 4th.
