The ceremony will begin in the Occupation Tapestry Gallery at the Jersey Maritime Museum, where Paul Sanders, author of The Ultimate Sacrifice – a book telling the stories of 21 Islanders who were killed – will give an address.
Proceedings will then move outside to the Lighthouse Memorial, where wreaths will be laid by the Lieutenant Governor, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, on behalf of the Crown, Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq, on behalf of the people of Jersey, and Chief Minister Ian Gorst, on behalf of the States.
The Island’s Jewish congregation, LGBT+ community and representatives of Spanish Republican forced workers and representatives from other groups persecuted by the Nazis will also lay wreaths.
Doug Ford, historian and member of the Jersey Holocaust Memorial Day Organising Committee, said that the ceremony was still very well attended, since its inception in 2001.
He said: ‘The idea of having a Holocaust Memorial Day was put forward by the Blair administration in England in 1999, the Bailiff organised the first one here and then we were asked to organise them thereafter.
‘During the first one, it was interesting to see the amount of people who came out of the community from different groups wanting to lay wreaths and take part in the ceremony. We did not ask them, they approached us.’
Mr Ford also said that the meaning of the ceremony had developed more poignancy today, following the rise of right-wing politics in some parts of the world.
‘There are now some racist attitudes being masqueraded as populism. I think it is still a very important event,’ he said.
He added: ‘We have had some great speakers in the past including Sami Stiegmann – a Nazi labour camp survivor – Brian Keenan and Michael Portillo, who’s father was a Spanish Republican. It is not something he [Mr Portillo] normally spoke about, but he came over and gave an address.’
A new edition of The Ultimate Sacrifice will also be released, after new information became available through British, French and German archives.
Paula Thelwell, chairwoman of the Jersey Holocaust Memorial Day Organising Committee, explained why the book was important.
She said: ‘It is important that the story of the 21 Islanders who died in German camps and prisons are never forgotten. We are proud to be guardians of their memories, working alongside our partners Jersey Heritage and the Jersey Arts Centre.’
The Holocaust Memorial Day Ceremony takes place at 2 pm on Saturday 27 January, with attendees being asked to arrive before 1.30 pm.
Denial – a film about a libel case involving Holocaust denier David Irving – will also be shown on the same day at the Arts Centre at 8 pm.
A two-part series about the 21 Islanders who died in German camps and prisons begins in the JEP on Monday.
