For a second year, the pandemic has put paid to the March of the Living, which usually takes place in Poland over Yom HaShoah.
But March of the Living UK has instead come up with a digital commemoration, producing a series of short videos featuring Holocaust survivors in conversation with celebrities.
In one, The Apprentice star Karren Brady takes a walk with Agnes Kaposi, at 89 the youngest of the survivors — the others are all in their 90s.
Actor and comedian Matt Lucas talks to Harry Olmer; world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan hears the story of Eve Kugler; Robert Peston, ITV’s political editor and host of Peston, is paired with Lily Ebert; and former Love Island-er Eyal Booker listens to the experiences of Mala Tribich.
Mr Peston said “there are too many people who walk around naively thinking that was the past”, while people in different parts of the world suffered oppression today.
“In remembering the Holocaust, what we do is we recognise that we all have a duty to be vigilant against evil.”
In Mr Olmer, Matt Lucas saw an “extraordinary glimpse into the power of the human spirit. If we forget these stories, forget what happened, and how and why, we’re at risk of it repeating itself.”
March of the Living UK founder Scott Saunders said the survivors were “living embodiments of what it means to show resilience in the face of hatred and adversity.
“The incredibly powerful ‘Meet the Survivors’ series of films with Matt, Ronnie, Robert, Karren and Eyal will help to educate people about the atrocities of the Holocaust — and with that knowledge hopefully make sure that something like that will never happen again.”
www.marchoftheliving.org.uk/meet-the-survivors