Holocaust Memorial Day

27th January is Holocaust Memorial Day as it marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau. 2016 is the 71st anniversary of its liberation and in the Scottish Parliament I have been sponsoring an exhibition called 'Gathering the Voices', to mark this year's anniversary.

It is a project that records the oral testimony of those who are survivors of the concentration camps or escaped the Nazis on the kindertransport and their journey to Scotland. There is a travelling exhibition that goes to schools, museums etc and a website with lots of educational material. It is a fantastic project and one that I am proud to have been associated with from almost its very beginning a few years ago.

The parliament also marked Holocaust Memorial Day with a debate, which I had the privilege of leading. This year's theme for the day is 'Don't stand by' and gives us the chance to remember those that helped others to escape the Nazis even though they put themselves in great danger.