Hastings and Rye MP Amber Rudd remembers victims of genocide at Holocaust Memorial Day

Amber Rudd Holocaust speech SUS-190602-095713001

The service, which was organised by Dr Shelley Katz, saw the community come together in remembrance of the victims of genocide. The theme for the 2019 service was Torn From Home.

The event was held and supported by Hastings Borough Council and saw St Richard’s Catholic College attend and deliver moving performances alongside the Bader International Study Centre from Queen’s University in Canada.

Speaking about the service, Amber said: “It was a great privilege to deliver the main speech at this year’s Holocaust Memorial Service. It was a time to reflect on the atrocities of the past and look to the future so that history never repeats itself.

“Thank you to Acromax, St Richard’s Catholic College, and the Bader International Study Centre who delivered compelling performances. We cannot forget the hard work of Dr Shelley Katz and Hastings Borough Council in holding and organising the service.”

Dr Shelley Katz, the organiser of the service, commented: “It was a deeply moving event; everyone involved showed a great deal of personal effort and commitment. I was touched by the work Found in Hope, composed and played by Ben Stotesbury-Byrne, a former St Richard’s Catholic College student who was inspired to compose the piece as a result of his own experience learning about the Holocaust at St Richard’s.

“The main speaker at the event, the Right Honourable Amber Rudd, made a personal statement with conviction, sincerity and integrity that was unmistakable. Without the slightest equivocation or hesitation, Amber Rudd made it crystal clear to us in Hastings and to the rest of the world where she personally stands, and where we - as a country - must stand.”

“Personally, it was a privilege to voice a remembrance of the great Jewish Philanthropist, Dr Alfred Bader CBE. With direct reference to the theme “Torn from Home” and especially as we reflect on our treatment of refugees today, we did well to recall that Dr Bader was a refugee who came to England on the Kindertransport in 1938. He was an inspirational man who was shaped but not destroyed when he was torn from home.”