The college has a tradition of commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day in a variety of ways. This year, working with the Chaplaincy, a group of our students visited HOME, in Manchester. Student Megan Auld takes up the story:
“On Holocaust Memorial Day I had the opportunity to go to HOME in Manchester with a group of people from college for a commemoration ceremony. At the event we watched some short films about the Holocaust and discussed them with an expert, Kay Andrews.
I was fortunate enough to be chosen to read a poem, Pastor Martin Niemoller’s ‘Then They Came’:
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
There was a marvellous response to the reading; it was a very thought-provoking experience and I hope to continue working with the Holocaust Memorial Day trust.”