Holocaust Memorial Day 2026
Barnet Council’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) commemoration has united the borough’s multifaith community in remembrance of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust and genocides throughout the world.
The ceremony at Middlesex University yesterday came two days ahead of the official nationwide HMD on Tuesday 27 January. It was hosted in the borough, Barnet, that is home to the largest number of Jews of any single local authority in the country. Some 15% of Barnet’s population – more than 56,000 people – identify as Jewish.
HMD 2026 marks the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the Nazi concentration camps, and the 31st anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia. The theme this year is ‘Bridging Generations,’ a reminder that the responsibility of remembrance doesn't end with the survivors. It lives on through their children, their grandchildren and through all of us.
Speakers at Barnet’s HMD 2026 service included Emily Cass, who presented The Story of Sala Slater, a tale of how her mother survived the Holocaust as a Jewish refugee.
When the Germans attacked Belgium in May 1940, Sara fled to the south of France with Paul Zlotogorski, who she married in December that year. The pair fled across the Alps to Switzerland in August 1942 after French police began to arrest Jews. In early 1945, impatient to be with Paul – who had been wounded whilst fighting with the British army in Germany – Sara smuggled herself out of Switzerland. She finally reached Britain in the summer of 1945 where, reunited with Paul, she made a new life in London.
Also attending the commemoration was 92-year-old survivor Peter Summerfield BEM, who spoke at last year’s ceremony and lit the candle to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2026. Peter and his family escaped Nazi Berlin, just four days before war was declared. However, all their possessions and luggage were stolen so they arrived in England in August 1939 penniless and with only their hand luggage. His grandmother and uncle were later murdered by the Nazis.
The Worshipful Mayor of Barnet, Cllr Danny Rich, said: “I approach Holocaust Memorial Day with a mixture of emotions including, but not restricted to, humility and hope.
“If the Holocaust, perpetrated by the Nazis against primarily the Jews, is the defining episode of the twentieth century, it is also true that the capacity of human beings to inflict cruelty on their neighbours and others remains a stain on civilisation in the following years, not least in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
“The aspiration of a better world – rid of the scourge of hatred – begins with persons of good will affirming clearly that racism has no place in our society. That clarity of purpose can then be translated into bringing Barnet together, providing appropriate educational opportunities, and enabling future generations to mould a world characterised by moral clarity and human decency.”
Barnet’s HMD 2026 service included music from the Barnet Band, Alyth Youth Choir, Emma Rich and the Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue Singing Circle.
Student Katerina Angeli from East Barnet School took part in the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz project last year, which included visiting the concentration camp turned memorial centre and museum. She shared what she learned during the service and read the Barnet Statement of Commitment.
Snowdrops were handed out at the end of the ceremony by students from Akiva School, as part of Barnet’s project to plant a snowdrop in memory of every one of the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust. So far 71,000 bulbs have been planted in the borough.
This year, for the second time, the council livestreamed the service on the council YouTube channel. The full service can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/@BarnetCouncilLondon/streams.