We launch the theme and a new project for HMD 2025
Our preparations for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, have begun with the announcement of the theme and a special arts and education project. Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) 2025 will mark two significant milestones: 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex, and the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia. Read here about our plans for this significant anniversary year.
The theme for HMD 2025
The theme for HMD 2025 is For a Better Future. It encapsulates our collective responsibility to shape a better future, imploring us to do everything in our power to create a brighter tomorrow – such as confronting Holocaust and genocide denial, challenging prejudice, and promoting education about the Holocaust and more recent genocides.
Our Chief Executive Olivia Marks-Woldman OBE said:
Auschwitz-Birkenau is a symbol of not just the Holocaust, but the dangers of unchecked hate. Our theme for next year’s Holocaust Memorial Day underscores a critical truth: even eighty years since the liberation of Auschwitz, the fight against intolerance and prejudice is far from over. Our theme is a call to action. Our collective challenge is to build a better future, one where the dignity of every human being is protected, and where prejudice is never allowed to become normalised.
Read our theme vision to learn about the different ways the theme can be incorporated into your HMD 2025 activities.
80 Candles for 80 Years
In addition to announcing the theme we have launched our nationwide arts and education project – 80 Candles for 80 Years.
For this significant anniversary year we will create a digital exhibition of 80 bespoke candleholders that will be designed and created by communities across the UK that showcase the life of an individual or a community persecuted by the Nazis.
The final 80 candleholders will be showcased in a digital exhibition and can also be part of local HMD activities. This project will give communities the chance to come together to create something bespoke, meaningful and memorable to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Learn more about 80 Candles for 80 Years
Partnership with Rob Rinder MBE
We have worked with TV personality and Barrister, Rob Rinder MBE, to launch the theme and 80 Candles project, and to raise awareness of the anniversary year. Watch the video of Rob encouraging everyone to take part below.
In the video Rob Rinder reflects on the importance of marking HMD 2025:
As the grandson of a Holocaust survivor… I’d like you to remember that we have all within our gift the capacity to learn from the past, in order to build a better future and that we all of us can be a light in the darkness. Thank you for everything that you’re going to do to be part of this extraordinary moment, and this extraordinary shared community.
Please help us to raise awareness by sharing our video on X, Instagram and Facebook.
If you would like to hear more about what we have planned for the HMD 2025 anniversary year and how you can get involved, make sure you are subscribed to our newsletter.
Image credits: Top and lower centre © Sam Churchill and HMDT / lower left, © IWM HU 105683 / lower right, © Sebastian Meyer /Getty