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EDINBURGH today will be the national focus of reflection on the Nazi persecution of the Jews as the capital hosts the third annual Holocaust Memorial Day.
The main event of the day, which coincides with the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, will be a production led by Lord of the Rings star Billy Boyd and local students to reflect the theme "Children and the Holocaust".
The Usher Hall evening will be attended by the Princess Royal; David Blunkett, the Home Secretary; Jack McConnell, the First Minister; Helen Liddell, the Scottish Secretary; and Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi.
It is estimated that more than 1.5 million children were murdered by the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945, and tonight’s hour-long production will include the observations and reflections of young people from Edinburgh who accompanied a scriptwriter to the Auschwitz memorial site.
Mr Blunkett said the lessons learnt from the Nazi atrocity were still relevant today. He added: "This year’s Holocaust memorial ceremony is a sharp reminder of the full extent of the horror of the Nazi crimes. We are reminded of what was destroyed - not just millions of lives but also hope.
"But the best of human nature can emerge through the worst. The Kindertransport [the operation to move Jewish children out of Germany] illustrated the willingness of ordinary British people to embrace both our duty to help the children escape and our responsibility for others. These are moral choices we still face today."
Mr McConnell said: "Nothing exposes the Holocaust’s utter corruption of human values more than the genocide of innocent children. The horror is almost unspeakable, but by keeping the memory alive in the minds of young people today we can help them to prevent these dreadful events happening again in the future."
Ernest Levy, a Holocaust survivor, spent a year in Auschwitz between 1944-45 where he lost many members of his family. Mr Levy, who moved to Glasgow in 1961, said it was vital mankind never had to endure anything like it in history again.
"After the Germans invaded Hungary, me and my family were deported to a number of concentration camps where many of them died," he said.
"I was lucky to survive but afterwards I had to build my life from zero and it was an uphill struggle. Such an experience can destroy faith in God and in humankind, and the agony and hurt can become locked up inside you.
"That is why I had to spread the gospel of reconciliation and hope and not a message of hatred. What stands out from my time in Auschwitz are the rare Nazi generals who tried to help us and spare us from the killing machines. The message from today is that it must never happen again and it is good that the young people involved will get to learn that lesson."
Mr Levy, 77, who became the cantor of Giffnock and Newlands, added that his move to Scotland was part of a healing process that helped him rebuild his life.
"I have had 40 very happy years in Scotland which is where I met my wife. The people are so warm-hearted and helped reaffirm my faith in man."
Tonight’s national event is part of a programme that has been taking place in Edinburgh for the last week, including a hard-hitting children’s theatre production staged in a huge disused warehouse transformed into a concentration camp, as well as art exhibitions, cinema screenings, discussions and a candlelit vigil.
Across the UK, cities, towns and schools are also marking Holocaust Memorial Day with community-based commemorative events.
In Edinburgh, a wreath will be laid at the grave of Lord Bryce (1838-1922) in the Grange cemetery in recognition of his efforts to publicise the Armenian genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey in 1915-16. The move is part of a campaign for greater recognition of the so-called "first genocide of the 20th century", against Armenian and other Christian minority communities.
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