Prime Ministers Office 10 Downing Street
Ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen, Chief Rabbi
Its an honour to be here with you this evening.
It is important to be with you this evening.
Thank you, Craig for that kind introduction.
And of course a huge thank you
On behalf of everyone here tonight
To Karen Pollock
And all the team at the Holocaust Educational Trust.
For over 35 years,
This world-leading charity
Has been supporting hundreds of survivors
Training thousands of teachers
And educating tens of thousands of our young people.
And you do it with an energy and an urgency
That is both inspiring
And sadly, needed now more than ever.
And I have met some of the ambassadors you have seen yourselves, so many inspiring people in the room with us this evening. Brimming with a determination to ensure the stories are told again and again, taking on the mantle themselves.
And earlier this year at one of your events
I met Manfred Goldberg
Reliving the sheer horror of his experience
including losing his brother Herman.
I can barely imagine the courage it takes. To tell that story not once, but over and over again because it is necessary because it is hard, so so hard, and so important
But like so many survivors
He does it for one reason: So we might learn and never forget.
And when I was speaking to Janine earlier this evening. It reminded me of listening to a survivor in Camden, when I was in secondary school where I live a school we know very well a boys secondary school and a survivors was speaking an at assembly boys came in 11-18 noisy boisterous , hard to calm down, sitting down they didnt know what they were about to hear.
And they started speaking.
Nobody said to the boys shh.
They just fell silent, totally silent and still and I witnessed it myself this whole group of boys who had been rowdy minutes before totally silent. Totally absorbed completely listening to what they were being told.
Manfred that is the power of what you are doing, that is why it is so important. Every boy I sat with at that school took it in and what was being said and I will never ever forget it.
And before I go onI know Manfred and Janine are here.
In fact, all survivors that arewith us tonight
As Prime Minister, speaking for the whole country, I just want to say an enormous and heartfelt thank you for what you do.
I am really proud there are so many of my cabinet here with me this evening. That is really important, I am even prouder that so many of my political rivals are here with us this evening, standing together, cross party, standing united on this important work. Thank you to all of those politicians that have come this evening.
I want you to know
We have heard you.
We feel very deeply
the responsibility of defending the truth of history.
And we hear your message about the present and the future too.
Because as Manfred has said so powerfully -
He never thought hed see this antisemitism again.
Just last week
I sat withAyelet Svatitzky
One of her brothers was murdered on October 7th.
Her mother who is 79 and another brother, Nadav, were taken captive.
Her mother was eventually released
But Nadav died in captivity.
She described in heartbreaking detail
The utter devastation she felt.
Her whole life stopped. Her family shattered. Talking, sometimes not talking, because I was hard for each of us to know what to say.
I want you to knowas Prime Minister, I will do everything possible
To help bring those remaining hostages home.
But weve also got to fight this underlying hate
This resurgence of antisemitism.
You know, every year we say never again.
Yet on October 7th
Over a thousand people were massacred by Hamas
For the very same reason: because they were Jewish.
We say never again
And yet in the last year
Weve seen record levels of antisemitism
Right here in Britain
Hatred marching on our streets.
The pulse of fear beating in this community.
Children afraid to wear their school uniforms
Students targeted on university campuses
All again, because they are Jewish.
We say never again
And yet right now online
Our children are swamped with misinformation
Disinformation
As Karen touched on
Holocaust denial
Conspiracy theories
Contorted versions of history.
Pure hatred and prejudice.
So I say tonight: we will not shy away from this.
We will not be silent
We will not look the other way
We will call out Antisemitism for what it is:
Hatred pure and simple.
And we will fight this with everything that we have got.
Just as I fought to bring my party back from the abyss of antisemitism, I promise you I will do the same in leading the country.
.So yes, wewillbuild that national Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre
And build it next to Parliament.
Boldly, Proudly, Unapologetically.
Not as a Jewish community initiative.
But as a national initiative.
A national statement of the truth of the Holocaust
And its place in our national consciousness.
And a permanent reminder of where hatred and prejudice can lead.
And yes, we will proudly support this remarkable charity
The Holocaust Educational Trust.
You know, it was Gordon Brown
Who pioneered government funding of your world-leading programme
Lessons from Auschwitz.
And over the last twenty years
Tens of thousands of students have had that life-changing opportunity
To visit Auschwitz in person - and to share their experience with their peers.
The shoes, The hair, the suitcases, the train tracks, the gas chamber
utterly, utterly horrific.
But its a truth we have remember.
I know there is there is nothing quite as powerful as seeing it for yourself.
My wife Vic has been, I must go.
So I will join the Holocaust Educational Trust
for one of these visits.
This government will continue fundingLessons from Auschwitz
And I can confirm that tonight we are providing at least
2.2 million next year to do that.
But look, we cannot stop there.
Its too important.
This was the first year that participation in Holocaust memorial day fell.
We cant sit back and accept that.
Weve got to be bolder and more defiant
about the national importance of Holocaust education.
As you will all know, the Holocaust is on the curriculum at Key Stage 3.
And there is currently a review of our national curriculum.
But tonight I am making two decisions in advance of that review.
First, the Holocaust will remain on the curriculum come what may.
And second, even schools who do not currently have to follow the national curriculum
Will have to teach the Holocaust when the new curriculum comes in.
For the first time, studying the Holocaust.
will become a critical, vital part of every single students identity.
And not just studying itlearning from it too.
And above all, acting on its lessons.
Because this is not just about rules and requirements.
Its also about thequalityof that teaching.
The support that schools and teachers have.
And thats where charities like this Trust come in.
Tonight, youre showcasing Testimony 360we saw a glimpse a moment ago.
Its an incredible programme.
If youve not done so, I urge you to see it.
It uses advanced technologies to allow students
Not just to hear Manfreds testimony
But to ask him questions.
To interact with him.
Now of course, it will never quite be the same
as meeting a survivor in person.
But what a way to preserve survivor testimony.
And what a way to engage young people at such a critical moment.
And I think this captures the essence
of what we need to do right now.
To extend the reach of Holocaust education
And to share the message of survivors like Manfred across the generations.
So tonight, I want to set up a new national ambition
That as part of their education,
Every student in the country should have the opportunity
To hear a recorded survivor testimony.
And I want us to fulfil this ambition, in this precious period
While we have survivors and still able to help us get this right.
As you all know, in the coming months
Well mark the 80thanniversaries
Of the liberation of Auschwitz in January
and the British liberation of Bergen Belsen in April.
And in August, the 80thanniversary of the arrival of 300 orphan survivors
Who were rehabilitated in Windermere
And went on to make extraordinary contributions to our country.
As we mark each one.
Lets be even bolder and more ambitious than ever before
In sharing their message.
And fighting this antisemitism, and all forms of hatred in our society.
So together we can ensure that the message of Britains Holocaust survivors
Will echo eternally across the generations
And that the Holocaust is never forgotten,