Being a light in the darkness

On Holocaust Memorial Day, Chief Constable Nick Adderley joins Commissioner Stephen Mold and Chief Fire Officer Darren Dovey to remember the lives of those lost in genocide.

At 10.30am this morning, Wednesday, January 27, they will support the Northampton Borough Council virtual Holocaust Memorial Day by delivering speeches, concluding with a candle lighting ceremony.

Members of the public can commemorate the day by observing a minute silence at 11am.

Those on social media can join in and share their thoughts using #VirtualHolocaustMemorialDay #HolocaustMemorialDay2021

Chief Constable Nick Adderley, said: “Lessons from the past can inform our lives today and it is all of our responsibility to work together for safer and better communities. It is a stark reminder of how hatred can threaten the fabric of civilisation and how we must each take responsibility for challenging it in all its forms.

“I would encourage communities across Northamptonshire to learn more about this years’ theme - be the light in the darkness and encourage you to reflect on the depths humanity can sink to, but also reflect upon the ways individuals and communities can come together.”

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold, said: “As the Holocaust moves ever further into the past and those who lived through that time become fewer, it is vitally important that we never forget and continue to meet and mark this day with fresh eyes each year. Because the hatred, prejudice and intolerance that drove the Holocaust sadly hasn’t receded into the past.”

Chief Fire Officer Darren Dovey, said: “The Holocaust was the result of a slippery slope of prejudice and intolerance. On Holocaust Memorial Day, we’d do well to remember that we all play a part in acting with compassion and creating a tolerant world.  

“If the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that globally, so much more brings us together than divides us.”

Holocaust Memorial Day - 27 January – encourages us to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, as well as the millions of others killed under Nazi persecution and in genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.