Councillor Downie proposed an amended motion on the Holocaust Memorial Day, 27 January 2017 and Councillor P Davey seconded the amended motion. Following a vote, the motion was carried and council agreed that –

Council recognises that the aftermath of the Holocaust and of subsequent genocides continues to raise challenging questions for individuals, communities and nations. Council reaffirms its belief that we must make sure that everyone especially future generations understand the causes of the Holocaust and reflects upon its consequences and lessons for today.

Council notes that:-

·      Holocaust Memorial Day was established in the UK in 2001. It remembers and honours all the victims and survivors of the Holocaust under Nazi persecution and in the subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosovo, in regions like Darfur and Nineveh and in the cities of Aleppo, Srebrenica and Halabja;

·      six million Jewish men, women and children perished in ghettos, mass-shootings, and concentration and extermination camps before any survivors were liberated by allied troops in 1945. Nearly half a million Gypsies and Travellers were also registered, sterilised and then deported to concentration camps by the Nazis in an event they call the Porajmos (the ‘devouring’);

·      similar fates befell gay men, lesbians and disabled people;

·      Jews first made their home in our City over 250 years ago. Today Brock House, which provides sheltered accommodation, and our historically significant Ashkenazi synagogue, stand as a lasting testament to the outstanding contribution Plymouth Hebrew Community have made to the political, social, cultural and economic life of our City;

·      over a thousand events will be taking place around the UK on Holocaust Memorial Day. In our City an informal event was held on the day at Mount Edgcumbe attended by the Lord Mayor;

·      Council recognises the significance of Holocaust Memorial Day as an opportunity for us all to remember the victims of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. It also gives us the chance to pay tribute to those who survived and to ensure we remain aware of what can happen if prejudice, discrimination and hatred go unchallenged.

This Council agreed to -

1.    ensure the future commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day by making it an official event in the Civic Calendar;

2.    work with the Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) to ensure that schools are supported and encouraged to educate our young people from every background about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today;

3.    work with partners to promote Plymouth as a welcoming and inclusive city which takes a stand against anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and hate crimes.