The Bishop of London Sarah Mullally and Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell attended two remembrance events on Monday 27 January, to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.  

On Monday morning, Bishop Sarah visited a service at the Great Hall at Lambeth Palace, hosted by the Council of Christians and Jews. It was introduced by Archbishop Stephen and Rabbi Wittenberg, before testimonies from Holocaust survivor Dr Martin Stern and second-generation Roma survivor, Daniela Abraham were heard. Dr Stern survived camps at both Westerbork and Theresienstadt, held there after the Nazis invaded the Netherlands.

During the service, there was a reflection from writer and ceramicist Edmund de Waal, whose Jewish ancestors were driven out of Vienna by the Nazis in 1938. De Waal has created a candleholder especially for the ceremony, which the Bishop of London lit alongside other guests. 

The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE commented:

“As we mark Holocaust Memorial Day, and 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, we are reminded not only of the horror of past evils, but of our responsibility today to stand up to and challenge prejudice, in all of its forms, across all of our communities. Light will come from the darkness, as we learn for a better future.”

The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is “Learn for a better future”, urging people to reflect on the lessons of the Holocaust and more recent genocides.  

Bishop Sarah also attended a national service of remembrance at the Guildhall in London, joined by members of The Royal Family, MPs, faith leaders and survivors of the Holocaust and also the Cambodian, Rwandan, Bosnian and Darfur genocides.