AS PART of Redditch’s Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations, residents could place their thoughts and messages on luggage tags which were hung on a special tree in Redditch Library.
Over 20 tags have been placed on the tree by library visitors of all ages, including 11 within the first three days.
One message on a tag reminded us we must all play our part to ensure the atrocities of genocide are never repeated, while another said the holocaust was a part of history we must all learn from.
Other residents decided to write poignant poetry on their tags remembering those who died during the genocide.
And a display of books including ‘Voices from the Holocaust’ and ‘The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor’ by Eddie Jaku has been placed in front of the tree for visitors to learn more about the atrocities.
Coun Peter Fleming, who chaired Redditch’s Holocaust Memorial Day Committee, added; “A luggage tag is such an ordinary object, and it aims to prompt us to reflect that any genocide, especially on the horrific scale of the Holocaust, must involve lots of ordinary people.
“The ordinary people who let it happen, the ordinary people who actively perpetrated it, and the ordinary people who were persecuted.
“It’s an important, sobering message that reminds us why it matters to remember the lessons of the past, together as a community, so we never allow it to happen again.”
