Today is Holocaust Memorial Day, dedicated to the remembrance of the six million Jews brutally killed during World War 2 and the many more that suffered throughout.

This year’s Holocaust Memorial Day marks 71 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and I think this quote from Mark Pigott, writing in the International Business Times, sums up how we can use the lessons from the Holocaust, particularly with things going on in the world at the moment:

It would be ludicrous and disrespectful to compare what happened during World War II to current news events, like asking migrants to wear red wrist-bands or to stay in houses with red doors. Yet religious intolerance and anti-Semitism are once again on the rise. People are dying because of their religion; war is on Europe’s doorstep, and occasionally within. Now is the time to remind ourselves what can happen when hatred and intolerance are allowed to triumph over tolerance and humanity. 

This year’s Holocaust Memorial message is #DontStandBy and it’s as relevant today as it was during World War Two. There is unfortunately still a need to stand up against violence, racism and discrimination all over the world.

Every year, I re-read my blog about visiting Auschwitz and I hope what I saw will always serve as a reminder to choose love over hate.

We are a generation who have been able to learn lessons from the Holocaust through first hand accounts of survivors, such as Otto Deutch’s story in the video below. We have the opportunity to learn from them and that’s what we must do, before we lose them.

Meet Otto Deutsch from #Southend, whose parents and sister were killed in the #Holocaust, just because they were Jews.Otto told me how his father was taken away by a man who they called Uncle Kurt, a trusted family friend who they’d known for years…

Posted by Sadie Nine BBC Essex on Wednesday, 27 January 2016