His Majesty The King supports 80 Candles for 80 Years
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) was delighted to attend Buckingham Palace to showcase the 80 Candle for 80 Years initiative at an event hosted by His Majesty King Charles III.
The initiative marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, honouring the memory of the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.
In May 2024, HMDT invited communities and schools across the UK to design and create 80 unique candleholders. These would honour Jewish individuals murdered in the Holocaust, or non-Jewish people from communities targeted and persecuted by the Nazis.
At the heart of the project is a commitment to learn from the past, for a better future, by illuminating the experiences of those affected by one of the darkest chapters of human history.
Participants from schools, craft groups, prisons, and faith communities submitted a wide range of creative and thoughtful artwork, expressing their understanding of the Holocaust and its enduring lessons.
The King meets Holocaust survivor
His Majesty The King met Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg at Buckingham Palace. © Grainge Photography
His Majesty The King is the Patron of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and has shown a long-standing commitment to Holocaust commemoration and education. Celebrating the project at Buckingham Palace, His Majesty was accompanied by Manfred Goldberg, a Holocaust survivor, to discuss the project and its inspiration.
His Majesty viewed a wonderful collaboration between the Rumble Museum at the Cheney School and the Museum of Oxford.
Two students, Amy and Nadia, told His Majesty how they had learnt about the life story of Holocaust survivor, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch. Along with support from Dr Lorna Robinson (Founding Director, Rumble Museum), history teacher David Gimson (Museum Lead, Higher Attainers Co-ordinator, Rumble Museum) and Beth Jones (Community Engagement and Exhibitions Officer, Museum of Oxford), they reflected Anita’s life in the artwork.
The candleholder incorporates musical notes, referencing Anita’s musicianship, and broken glass, symbolising her experiences in Auschwitz.
The 80 candleholders will be showcased in a special digital exhibition on Holocaust Memorial Day and will also play a central role in local HMD events, encouraging deeper reflection and dialogue within communities.
Profound learnings and powerful conversations
The candleholder inspired by Holocaust survivor Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, created by Cheney School in collaboration with the Rumble Museum and the Museum of Oxford.
HMDT Chief Executive Olivia Marks-Woldman OBE expressed her gratitude to all those who took part:
“The high level of engagement from participants has been truly inspiring. It’s clear from the submitted artworks that profound learning and powerful conversations have taken place about the experiences of Jewish people before, during and after the Holocaust and the persecution of non-Jewish people.
This project has not only deepened understanding of the Holocaust and Nazi crimes with participants and viewers of the artworks but also inspired everyone to speak out against the hate and bigotry that led to such persecution and the murder of 6 million Jewish people.”
Chair of HMDT’s Board of Trustees, Laura Marks CBE, said:
“The longstanding commitment to Holocaust Education and commemoration by our Patron, His Majesty The King, bears testament to its importance to our whole nation. It was such an honour for me to watch as the school children, Amy and Nadia, with their teachers and museum professionals who had guided them, proudly showed their candleholder to The King and, with remarkable confidence, talked to him about their learning through the project.
Whilst not every child or indeed adult who took part in the 80 Candles Initiative will be lucky enough to show their candleholder to His Majesty, thousands of people have created candleholders, learned in depth about the Holocaust and will go on to challenge prejudice and identity-based hatred.”
HMDT is also inviting people up and down the country to design their own candleholder and share it on social media for HMD 2025 using the hashtag #80Candles and tagging HMD on X, Facebook and Instagram.
The 80 Candles for 80 Years project was made possible by support from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the German Federal Ministry of Finance, and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future.
Main image © Grainge Photography
His Majesty The King lights a Holocaust Memorial Day Candle alongside Olivia Marks-Woldman OBE, Chief Executive of Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT), Beth Jones, Community Engagement and Exhibitions Officer, Museum of Oxford, Laura Marks CBE, Chair of Trustees, HMDT, and Manfred Goldberg Holocaust Survivor. © Grainge Photography