A commemorative event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, on Thursday 27 January, will take place at Derby Cathedral and QUAD. Presented by Derby’s Holocaust Memorial Day planning group, the theme for 2022 is ‘One Day’. The programme will include musical, dance and spoken word pieces from diverse communities within Derby.
The Cathedral commemoration event starts at 2.30pm which includes music from Phil Baggaley and Bill Varnam, using restored violins from the Holocaust. After the service, those gathered will move to the trees dedicated to Anne Frank and Olga Nahlak, located on Cathedral Green. In a brief ceremony, dignitaries, including the Mayor of Derby and visiting diplomats from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine and Armenia, will place small stones at the foot of each tree. All who wish to do so may take part and stones will be provided at the trees. Some transport will be provided from the stone setting to the Bosnia-Herzegovina Centre, which is around a 15-minute walk from Cathedral Green.
The commemorative event at QUAD will commence at 7.30pm, includes a keynote address by Dr Larissa Allwork, from the University of Derby. Larissa will be talking about one day in the extraordinary life of Jack Kagan (1929-2016). Kagan survived the Holocaust with the Jewish Bielski partisan resistance group in the Naliboki forest. Kagan also rebuilt his life in Britain after the war and became an important advocate for Holocaust education and remembrance nationally and internationally. At the QUAD there is also readings and klezmer music and Yiddish songs from Yoyvl, a performance on the Traditional Iranian Santoor; presentations about former Derby resident Olga Nahlak; poetry readings by students from Murray Park Community School; and poetry and dance from the Derby Bosnia Herzegovina Community Association; and music from Derby’s Hoverla Ukrainian Dance Ensemble. The event is free, but advance booking is advised by ringing QUAD box office on 01332 290606 or online.
The events are presented by Derby’s Holocaust Memorial Day planning group, who have marked the date with a programme of events in Derby since 2001. For more information on Holocaust Memorial Derby events 2022, please see the Holocaust Memorial Day website.