Marking Holocaust Memorial Day 2026

Chelmsford Jewish Community will be observing Holocaust Memorial Day 2026 with a commemoration event on Thursday 29 January, supported by Chelmsford City Council.

Holocaust Memorial Day is an International Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust and other genocides around the world. The official date of 27 January is the day Auschwitz-Birkenau – where millions of Jewish, Roma, Sinti, disabled people and other groups had been persecuted by the Nazi regime during World War Two – was liberated in 1945.

All residents welcome to join commemoration event

Residents are invited to join Chelmsford Jewish Community's Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration on Thursday 29 January from 7pm, which will be hosted in the Council Chamber at the Civic Centre on Duke Street.

This year’s special guest speaker will be Lu Lawrence, whose father, Zigi Shipper, was born into an orthodox Jewish family in 1930 in Łódź, Poland. Lu will recount her father’s experiences growing up in the Łódź Ghetto before surviving a period in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Stutthof and two more concentration camps as well as a Death March. 

Zigi passed away in 2023. Up until his death, he educated others on the Holocaust, sharing his story with thousands of people, including school pupils from across the UK. In 2022, a portrait of Zigi and six fellow Holocaust survivors was commissioned by His Majesty King Charles III (then HRH The Prince of Wales) and displayed at Buckingham Palace.

Lu now continues her father’s legacy, regularly giving talks through The Holocaust Educational Trust and the ‘45 Aid Society. She is also a leader on March of the Living. 

Stan Keller, Chairman of Chelmsford Jewish Community, will once again be leading the event. He says that as the years pass, we must continue to remember the genocides of the past:

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“This year's Holocaust Memorial Day theme is ‘Bridging Generations’. This reminds us to continue to remember the impact of the Holocaust as the distance from the events of the past increases. With the numbers of Holocaust survivors alive today sadly but inevitably dwindling, we must turn to their children and grandchildren to preserve and share their stories, teaching future generations of the consequences of unchecked hatred.”

Stan Keller, Chairman of Chelmsford Jewish Community

Book your space in advance

If you would like to attend Chelmsford Jewish Community's Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration event, please book your space in advance by emailing info@jewishcommunitychelmsford.co.uk with names of all attendees.