Holocaust Memorial Day

Baroness Scott of Bybrook Excerpts

Monday 26th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

My Lords, first, I thank the Minister for bringing forward this take-note debate on Holocaust Memorial Day, which falls tomorrow, and for her very thought-provoking speech. It was passionate, and I could feel that she felt it very deeply. I am also grateful to all noble Lords for their thought-provoking, passionate and moving contributions to commemorate all those 6 million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered in the Holocaust by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. I also congratulate the right reverend prelate the Bishop of Coventry on her excellent maiden speech. I look forward to hearing more such speeches in the years to come.

Having spoken in and brought forward this debate in previous years, it is a privilege to speak in this debate once again. This year’s theme, “Bridging Generations”, is not only an invitation to remembrance but a call to action. With each year that passes, we are left with fewer and fewer survivors and eyewitnesses to the Holocaust; it is increasingly up to us to pass on their memory.

The Minister read out the names of the heroic Holocaust survivors who have died this year. To their families and friends may their memory be blessed. It was this month that, sadly, Harry Olmer MBE died aged 98. Harry was born in Poland. His family was subjected to forced labour following the German invasion. In 1942, Harry, his brother and their father were sent to Plaszów labour camp in Kraków. After a year, when he was just 16, Harry was moved again to work in the chemical factories where many thousands died from poisoning, epidemics, starvation and exhaustion. Weakened prisoners were simply shot by the SS. In July 1944, shortly before the German retreat, a selection of those prisoners resulted in Harry being sent to Schlieben in Germany, a subcamp of Buchenwald concentration camp. As one of the surviving prisoners there, he was transported yet again, this time to Terezín ghetto in Czechoslovakia, and it was from here that he was finally liberated on 8 May 1945.

Harry came to the UK with a group of child survivors known as the Boys. Recalling his arrival, he said, “It was freedom”. The suffering he experienced clearly did not hold him back. He qualified as a dentist and became a British citizen in 1950 in order to serve in the British Army. He retired reluctantly at 86, and his commitment to educating the next generation continued all those years. We are lucky to have called Harry a fellow countryman. His memoir was titled My Revenge on Hitler is My Family, and I take this opportunity to offer, on behalf of your Lordships’ House, our sincere condolences to Harry’s children, his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren. It is an understatement to say that his story is an inspiration. It is a profound loss that he is no longer here to tell his story himself. Let his memory be a blessing.

“Bridging Generations” reminds us that memory is not passive. It is something we must actively carry and pass on. It is particularly alarming, therefore, that the number of UK schools commemorating the Holocaust has dropped by nearly 60% since the 7 October pogrom carried out by Hamas and the massacre of over 1,200 Jewish people. This is shocking in this country. I commend, and indeed recommend as a matter of urgency, the work of the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, as well as all the other organisations, museums, teachers and volunteers who commit to educating the next generation about the Holocaust.

Now more than ever, at a time when social media spreads misinformation to children, and when antisemitism is on the rise, as we have heard said so passionately today, they need to be taught about the horrors that took place and how it is that they came about. These horrors occurred not just because of a few monsters at the top, but because of ordinary people and the monster that we all know humans are capable of becoming. Moreover, children need to be instilled with, and we ourselves need reminding of, the values that prompted people to think critically, to be courageous, and to stand up to evil in daily life. What lessons could be more valuable or more important? Those educators who are denying our pupils the chance to participate in Holocaust Memorial Day are doing our children a disservice, and I dare say in some cases doing so out of moral cowardice.

Furthermore, the work of organisations such as the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust should not be confined to the classroom. It was not schoolchildren who committed the terrorist attacks in Sydney, Australia, or on the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester. We on these Benches welcome the Government’s interventions in education, but also in security and taking action within our institutions. It is a source of shame that these measures have become necessary, but it is also a wake-up call that we all need to do more to uphold the dignity of every human life and to cultivate cohesion in our country.

In this vein, I give thanks for the work of His Majesty the King and all the Royal Family who, in the last year, have led the way in marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and indeed of Europe. I also note that today in 1482 the first printed edition of the Torah in Hebrew was completed in Bologna in Italy. This set the model for the page format still in use. The contribution of our Judaeo-Christian heritage to our civilisation today is undeniable and Jewish communities continue in this country to contribute to our society in most extraordinary ways. I end by saying that my thoughts and prayers are with those victims of the Holocaust, their families, and all those who continue to be affected by antisemitism on British soil and abroad to this day.