Holocaust Memorial Day 2016

Every year, 27th January marks Holocaust Memorial Day, where we commemorate the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death camp in January 1945. On and around this time people from all over the world come together to remember the destruction and devastation caused by the Holocaust and more recent genocides and persecutions on a worldwide scale. In 2016, York will be embracing the theme ‘Don’t Stand By’ to create a programme of events and exhibitions throughout January that are both reflective, looking back over the 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, as well as forward-looking with a clear call to action in the present. The central vision of Holocaust Memorial Day is to learn from the past in order to create a safer, better future.

2

Paragraph 175 (2000)

Saturday 23 January, 7.30pm

South Bank Community Cinema, Clements Hall, Nunthorpe Road YO23 1BW Paragraph 175 is a documentary film released in 2000, directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, and narrated by Rupert Everett. Between 1933 and 1945, 100,000 homosexual men were arrested under Paragraph 175. Some were imprisoned, others were sent to concentration camps. Only about 4,000 survived. In 2000, fewer than ten of these men were known to be living. Five come forward in the documentary to tell their stories for the first time, considered to be among the last untold stories of the Third Reich. This is a very rare showing of this film in the UK. The film is not suitable for children. Doors open at 7pm. At 7.30 there will be a short introductory talk and there will an opportunity for discussion after the showing. Booking required: Free in advance from Clements Hall or on the door. 01904 632670 [email protected] www.sbcommunitycinema.co.uk @SBankComCinema

They Kill Us for their Sport

Sunday 24 January, 7pm – 8pm The Guildhall, St. Helen’s Square, York YO1 9QN

King Lear by 2nd year theatre students from York St John University. A reconsidering of William Shakespeare’s King Lear (from the Brythonic Llyr – half speech, half language). The theatre students have just returned from a secular pilgrimage to Auschwitz and they now ask themselves “How will we remember when all the witnesses are gone?” They Kill Us for their Sport will be composed of fragmented images, snatched conversations, half remembered events - in an attempt to make sense of it all. Booking required. FREE: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/they-kill-us-forsport-part-of-holocaust-memorial-week-tickets-19861040908 01904 876433 [email protected]

3

My Nazi Legacy (2015) PG

Wednesday 27 January, 6.30pm

City Screen Picturehouse, 13-17 Coney Street, York YO1 9QL What did your father do in The War? A documentary bringing together the sons of two infamous Nazi war criminals together with human rights lawyer Philippe Sands, who lost several members of his own family in the Holocaust. 0871 902 5726 Booking Required: Coney Street Box Office www.picturehouses.co.uk [email protected] Adult £10.50 /Member £8.50 /Retired £9.50 /Retired Member £7.50 / Student £9.50 /Student Member £7.50 /Child £6.00

York Jewish History Walk:

Community and Identity through the Centuries

(Sponsored by HistoryWorks and English Heritage.)

Wednesday 27 January, 12.30pm – 2pm

Steps of The Yorkshire Museum, Museum Gardens, York Y01 7FR Join Professor Helen Weinstein, Jeremy Ashbee and John Oxley on this FREE walk, discovering sites of synagogues and a significant medieval burial ground before finally entering the site of Clifford’s Tower itself where we will reflect on where Jewish families tragically died on 16th March 1190. No Booking. FREE ENTRY to Clifford’s Tower for participants. All Welcome! 07974827753 [email protected] (steep steps involved) www.historyworks.tv/projects/2014/11/02/york-castle-project/

Jewish History Walk

Sunday 31 January, 11am A proposed walking tour of the city recalling the Jewish contribution to York’s history, run by the Association of Voluntary Guides for the city of York. Please call for more details. No booking required. 01904 550098 Meet at: Exhibition Square, York YO1 7EW 4

Shonaleigh – Storyteller The Diamond Girl & The Goat-Horn Bee Wednesday 27 January, 7.30pm

Theatre Studio 1, York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX A day comes when everything changes. What should have been the happy ending is the beginning of a nightmare. A blessing has become a curse and the curse is the only way to survive. When her world is torn apart Reisal has to watch as her family disappears and she herself becomes nothing more than a pawn of the powerful; Zekal Ben Yakov has to watch as his son sets out on a quest with only half a puzzle and a sack of questions. The only thing that can save them all is a firewolf, an icefish, a snow tear and a goat-horn bee. http://bit.ly/1ItKzJD Booking required. FREE: 01904 876433 [email protected]

University of York: Reflections

Wednesday 27 January, 1pm - 3.30pm The Lake House, Ron Cooke Hub, Heslington East, University of York, YO10 5GE

1 - 2pm ‘Don’t Stand By’: Readings, music and reflections for students, staff and the local community. 2.30 - 3.30pm ‘Performing the Jewish Archive: Reflections on Lost Voices’. In a series of brief lecture-demonstrations, a team of researchers from York and Leeds will share their most recent discoveries regarding literary, musical and theatrical works created by Jewish artists in situations of internment, exile and emigration. [email protected] Booking required: 5

600 Candles

Wednesday 27 January, 6pm – 7.30pm Evensong 5.15pm/Candle Lighting 6pm – 7.30pm

Chapter House, York Minster, York, YO1 7JN (Ramped Access) A candle-lit act of commemoration in the setting of York Minster’s historic Chapter House including a reading of the seven committments. The peace of the Minster will provide an opportunity to remember victims of genocide from the Holocaust to the present day, through music, words and time for reflection. Attendees have the option of joining the sung evensong service which takes place beforehand at 5.15pm. No Booking: FREE 01904 557200 [email protected] www.yorkminster.org

Woman In Gold (2015 )12A

Friday 29 January, 8pm (doors 7.30pm) Clements Hall, Nunthorpe Road, York YO23 1BW

The film is based on the true story of an elderly refugee, Maria Altmann, who takes on the Austrian government to reclaim an art masterpiece stolen from her relatives by the Nazis in Vienna just before the war. It stars Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds. Booking: £3 members £4 non- members - On the door OR in advance Clements Hall or Cycle Heaven, Bishopthorpe Road. 01904 466086 [email protected] www.sbcommunitycinema.co.uk @SBankComCinema 6

Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) (12A) Friday 29 January, 7.30pm

Community Cinema, New Earswick Folk Hall, Hawthorn Terrace, York, YO32 4AQ Film at the Folk Hall welcomes you to a special screening of the classic and moving WW2 story, told through the eyes of a concentration camp commander’s son and his friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the fence. Relaxed atmosphere, giant high definition screen and licensed bar. Booking Required: £4 adults. £2 children. £8 Family. 01904 769621 [email protected] In person/by phone/online http://nellivisioncinemafolkhall.eventbrite.co.uk/

York Holocaust Memorial Day

Sunday 31 January, 5.45pm – 8.30pm

Explore York Library Learning Centre, Library Square, York, YO1 7DS We’re inviting you to join us at York Explore Library for an evening of short talks, exhibitions, discussion and film inspired by the 2016 theme ‘Don’t Stand By’.

Exhibitions at Explore York:

Artist As Witness

Monday 25 – Monday 1 February The 2nd year theatre module Artist as Witness asks the question ‘how can you bear testimony to an event you did not witness?’ Over the past nine years over 300 theatre students have been to Auschwitz, so they would be able to say “We stood there”.

7

Imagine never being able to forget Everywhere you look You see a ghostly double exposure of time One upon the other Imagine never witnessing But having to give testimony (Richmond Dory Richmond) Installation by Theatre Students - York St John University

Do birds still sing there?

Monday 25 – Monday 1 February “I remember taking some ‘good’ photographs in Auschwitz. The image that remained, that I was sure I had, was of a pile of spectacles, those personal bespoke items that belong just to you - the ones you are lost without. And now I look and see that the image is in my memory. It won’t leave me but I can’t show you it. Here is a vison of Auschwitz; it will never be comprehended.” (Spectacles have been donated by Vison Aid overseas) Installation by Helen Turner - York St John University

Refugee Action York

Refugee Action York (RAY) was founded in 2002 to challenge myths and misconceptions about refugees and asylum seekers and to raise awareness of the contribution refugees and asylum seekers make to our society. Drop into the Garden Room and find out more about RAY and the work they do with refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from within and around the city of York.

York City of Sanctuary

City of Sanctuary is a movement to build a culture of hospitality for people seeking sanctuary in the UK. Visit our York City of Sanctuary Information Point and find out all about the great work they do in the city! 8

Civic Event

Sunday 31 January, 5.45pm – 8.30pm

Explore York Library Learning Centre, Library Square, York, YO1 7DS 5.45pm: Music from Oyfn Oyg - Live Klezmer Band: Lesley Schatzberger (clarinet); John Bone (accordion); Alan George (violin); Ian Sharp (cello) 6.15pm: Assemblies – by Creative Learning Partnerships The words of holocaust survivors from the Second World War and more recent genocides will be used as a mechanism for remembrance and an understanding of our collective responsibility to stop prejudice and discrimination. Young actors will present these first-hand testimonies from within the audience to create an engaging, thought-provoking and emotional experience and a reminder - Don’t Stand By. 6.30pm: Michael Barrie: The Evian Conference 1938 - Purpose, attendees, outcomes, consequences. “The world stood by.” The conference was convened at the initiative of US President Franklin Roosevelt in July 1938 to respond to the plight of the increasing numbers of Jewish refugees fleeing persecution by the Nazis. For eight days at Evianles-Bains, France, delegates from 32 countries formally discussed the issue but came to no joint resolution and effectively gave the green light to Hitler to pursue the Final Solution. The resemblance to the current range of talks and the plight of present day refugees is striking. 9

6.45pm: Voices from Syria: An interview with members of the local Syrian community conducted by York City of Sanctuary co-ordinator Paul Wordsworth. 6.55pm: Paul Dillane: Hear from the executive officer of the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group on the plight of asylum seekers arriving in this country. 7.05pm: Edith Jayne: Closing remarks. 7.30 – 8.30pm: Richard Bourne: “Why should we care? What should we do?” Everyone is invited to join this facilitated discussion group led by the Head of Department of Theology and Religious Studies at York St John University, Dr Richard Bourne. The discussion focusses on past and present refugee crises, asking the questions why we should care and what we should do? No Booking Required. 01904 554583

[email protected]

Clifford’s Tower Commemoration

Wednesday 16 March, 6.30pm – 7.30pm

Meet at Clifford’s Tower Steps. This is an outdoor event so wrap up warm. A moving, shared remembrance of the massacre of the Jewish people in York at Clifford’s Tower in 1190 through a simple candle-lit ceremony of readings and prayer. No Booking Required. 01904 554583 [email protected]

10

United Nations Statement of Commitment The following Statements of Commitment were created for HMD in the UK, based on the Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust on 27th January 2000, endorsed by the United Nations. • We recognise that the Holocaust shook the foundations of modern civilization. Its unprecedented character and horror will always hold universal meaning. • We believe the Holocaust must have a permanent place in our nation’s collective memory. We honour the survivors still with us, and reaffirm our shared goals of mutual understanding and justice. • We must make sure that future generations understand the causes of the Holocaust and reflect upon its consequences. We vow to remember the victims of Nazi persecution and of all genocide. • We value the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives to protect or rescue victims, as a touchstone of the human capacity for good in the face of evil. • We recognise that humanity is still scarred by the belief that race, religion, disability or sexuality make some people’s lives worth less than others’. Genocide, anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and discrimination still continue. We have a shared responsibility to fight these evils. • We pledge to strengthen our efforts to promote education and research about the Holocaust and other genocide. We will do our utmost to make sure that the lessons of such events are fully learnt. • We will continue to encourage Holocaust remembrance by holding an annual Holocaust Memorial Day. We condemn the evils of prejudice, discrimination and racism. We value a free, tolerant, and democratic society. 11

Front cover photos: Top, Jewish refugees from Europe, trying to cross to Haifa in British-controlled Palestine, 1946; Below, refugees from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, trying to cross to Europe, present day.

If you would like this information in an accessible format (for example in large print, in Braille, on CD or by email) please call (01904) 551550 @Yorkhmd

www.hmd.org.uk

hmdyork