Holocaust Memorial Day: Presbyterian Moderator describes Holocaust as a 'stain on humanity and the world'

​Right Reverend Dr Richard Murray made the comments on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the day set aside as International Holocaust Memorial Day.

He reflected on his recent visit to the camp, saying that ‘it's sobering to remember that the evil which took place there actually happened within living memory.’

“Today, on Holocaust Memorial Day, people of faith and none, will remember an unequalled tragedy in history that saw six million Jewish men, women and children, and the millions of other victims of the Holocaust, who were murdered by the Nazi’s and their collaborators,” Dr Murray said.

“Such evil can only forever be a stain on humanity and the world. In commemorating those who perished, the lives and the human potential that was lost with them, we also lament what happened, and try and ensure that it never happens again.”

Last month Dr Murray visited a fledgling Presbyterian denomination in Poland, preaching in a congregation in Kraków. During his time there he travelled to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the Nazi death camps.

“When we arrived, our guide told us, ‘You are not visiting a tourist attraction today, it is a mass grave you’ve come to’.” Dr Murray said.

“As we were guided around Auschwitz, and the massive adjacent camp at Birkenau, the next four hours were harrowing and unforgettable. The gas chambers we stood in, the electric fences, rows of barracks, the crematoria, and the gallows that we saw, all instruments of systematic murder and unspeakable evil. You just came away stunned and numb.”

Dr Murray continued, “When world leaders gather later today in Auschwitz-Birkenau, to commemorate its liberation 80 years ago, they will not be able feel the sheer hopelessness of the place, experienced personally by the dwindling number of survivors who will join them, and were there eight decades ago. They are a living memorial to what took place, and testament to what could happen again.”

On Thursday of last week, the Moderator attended the Northern Ireland ceremony to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, which took place in Belfast City Hall. The event not only marked the 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, but the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia.

Meanwhile The King will be at Auschwitz to mark the 80th anniversary of its liberation as Sir Keir Starmer spoke of the “collective endeavour” to defeat the “hatred of difference” on Holocaust Memorial Day.

Charles will join survivors and other dignitaries invited to a service at the site of the former concentration camp in Poland on Monday.

It comes as the Keir Starmer warned a similar atrocity could happen in the future unless society upholds its duty to “make never again finally mean what it says”.

In a statement on Monday, the Prime Minister paid tribute to the six million Jewish people murdered by the Nazi regime and renewed his commitment to ensure all schools across the country teach students about the genocide.

“The Holocaust was a collective endeavour by thousands of ordinary people utterly consumed by the hatred of difference,” Sir Keir said.

“That is the hatred we stand against today and it is a collective endeavour for all of us to defeat it.

“We must start by remembering the six million Jewish victims and by defending the truth against anyone who would deny it.”

The Prime Minister said “as we remember, we must also act,” pointing other atrocities in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur which followed the Holocaust.

“Today, we have to make those words mean more. We will make Holocaust education a truly national endeavour,” he said.

“We will ensure all schools teach it and seek to give every young person the opportunity to hear a recorded survivor testimony, because by learning from survivors we can develop that empathy for others and that appreciation of our common humanity, which is the ultimate way to defeat the hatred of difference.