Our branch secretary Alan Irwin spoke at the Corby Holocaust Memorial Day 2024. Below is a copy of his speech for those who were unable to attend:
Can I again first off thank Corby Town Council for inviting the GMB to this very important annual event. Many trade unions commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD), remembering the millions affected by the Nazi persecution and of other groups and subsequent genocides – including trade unionists who were targeted by the Nazis. It is annual opportunity for trade unionists to continue to do their part to create a safer, better future by learning the lessons of the past.
When Hitler came to power in 1933, trade unionists were amongst the first groups to be targeted for persecution by the Nazi regime. Their values were at odds with the Nazi vision of an authoritarian state, and in May 1933 all German trade unions were shut down. Their leaders were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
Today, over 80 years on, our trade unions continue to speak out and combat hatred, prejudice and discrimination. Holocaust Memorial Day offers trade unionists a great opportunity to continue to play their part creating a safer, better future by learning the lessons of the past and bear witness every day for human dignity and justice.
As an international movement we are proud of our record, standing firm against fascism, racism and discrimination. This day is an opportunity to reflect on the horrendous consequences that these evils can lead to, and to strengthen our commitment to equality and respect for all.
It is also a time for us to give thanks to those who have spoken up for all of us in the past and a reminder that we must always challenge and speak out against prejudice, discrimination, persecution and atrocities, and never let hatred win. This is as important today as at any time in history.
Here in the UK, and around the world, millions of people continue to face prejudice, discrimination and hostility simply because of their identity. Today is a day of commemoration and action to challenge these attitudes and behaviours, in order to build a better future together.
Holocaust Memorial Day encourages remembrance in a world scarred by genocide. As trade unions we promote and support the international day on 27 January to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of other people killed by the Nazis.
The Holocaust threatened the very fabric of civilisation. Today is for everyone to reflect and remember. Each year across the UK, thousands of people come together to remember the past and commit to take action to create a safer future. Standing together we bear witness for those who endured genocide and honour the survivors and all those whose lives were changed beyond recognition.
On our own doorsteps and across the globe the number of hate crimes grow each year. Prejudice against people’s religion, race, political affiliation, social class, gender, physical ability and sexual orientation. All on the rise, accentuated on right wing media platforms.
The theme this year is The Fragility of Freedom.
Two years ago, when I stood here talking about, the crimes of war it’s happening again, and with such ferocity, which has left tens of thousands of dead, many of them children, it’s painful and heart-breaking to watch. So, when we talk about freedom, what is clear is that in every genocide, it is those targeted for persecution who have had their freedom restricted and removed by murdering them in cold blood.
The concept of ‘Freedom is a theme we have visiting for hundreds of years. Often exposed through great speeches which connect to times of war. We could recite many of those great speeches from Martin Luther King to Nelson Mandela and I will use just a few from Mandela in 1964 that talks about the very essence of ‘freedom’.
“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Over the years, like so many of you, I’ve had numerous conversations with friends anxious about the state of the world and direction of the country and they always ask the question ‘But what can we really achieve when faced with such banal, insipid opposition. Their concern, possibly well founded, is that these forces lay far beyond their control, that there is nothing they can do to turn the tide of hate and discrimination.
I fundamentally disagree with that.
Because we frequently walk by opportunities to push back. All of us are different, have different strengths, different networks, different points of influence and different parts of our lives where we feel more confident to speak out or share our opinions.
And there are different things each one of us can do and that is, to stand in solidarity with the victims of hatred, discrimination, and cruelty.
Today, the enduring message is clear and for always…If we are going to defeat a dangerous and growing narrative of hate, intolerance and division finding a home in our communities, we have a responsibility, a duty to challenge and engage at every level both with those who preach it and those attracted to its opportunist and populist and evil messaging. That means leaving no section of our communities abandoned, or allowing our streets to be hijacked by those who seek to divide us.
That work, that commitment is never finished while we are still witnessing the alarming signs of a re-emergence of nationalism, populism and the far right and we cannot, and should not, stand by passively and watch the gradual erosion of human values and democratic norms governed by the rule of law. We cannot, and should not, accept the erosion of respect and decency, or that intolerance and violence is confused with freedom or justified by patriotic national pride.
The theme is the fragility of freedom – how far have we come? What have we learnt? In terms of what is unfolding today in Europe and across the Middle East, not much it would appear!.
In Ukraine, tens of thousands of innocent lives taken – murdered!
Israel, October 7th innocent lives taken – murdered!
The invasion and illegal occupation of Gaza – tens of thousands of innocent lives taken – murdered!
These are dangerous times that we live in.
It is heartbreaking to watch the atrocities that are escalating every day in Gaza. The TUC and most of its affiliated unions have always been a long-standing supporter of the Palestinian people with a policy that opposes the illegal occupation and blockade of Gaza opposed to settlement expansion and the condemnation of discriminatory actions that is consistent with international law. That support must continue and must be extended in calling for a permanent ceasefire right now. The killing must stop!!
As trade unionists, we are making a stand and to our pride, workers are doing that today! On December 7th over 1000 workers simultaneously blocked four arms factories across the UK, protesting Israel’s use of British manufactured fighter jet components used to attack Gaza.
These were teachers, health workers, hospitality workers, trade unionists coming together, including the GMB. And such action is happening right across Europe.
Unfortunately, too many who have chosen to speak out are being persecuted and harassed. Freedom of speech it seems, doesn’t extend to calling for a ceasefire for fear of being suspended at your place of work or using the language of genocide against the Israeli state. Their actions need to be called out and I am glad and applaud the South African government for bringing a case of genocide to the International Court of Justice, only yesterday. Who will stand with them?
Hate is the narrative today for so many and it’s on the move in the UK and across Europe. A rise in antisemitism, quadrupled in recent years A rise in attacks on Muslims in major cities has increased significantly with recent figures seeing the highest number of both antisemitism and Islamophobic incidents ever recorded in the past 5 years.
People are genuinely frightened! That is the real affront to Freedom , Frightened to speak out, Frightened to march in defiance, Frightened to protest while this government passes legislation to restrict the freedom of speech in public places.
Because, when you raise a torch, touch on questions relating to authority and the concentration of power you run into challenging barriers. Why? because your idea of freedom is not theirs. It is not, whatever you may think, your right, as they see it to challenge their authority. That is a privilege and the preserve of the ruling elite, as they see it.!
I do not believe that it is an exaggeration to say that the effort to take control of our lives is a dominant theme of today’s right-wing governments across the globe.
When we talk about freedom we talk about human beings, not abstract political and legal constructions, like corporations, states, or capital. All of this is talk about freedom and democracy is openly opposed by sectors of the wealthy and privileged. They believe – people have to be controlled for their own good in order to protect the minority of the wealthy elite from the majority and to keep the country governed by those who own it. As they see it!
Through economic cohesion freedom, sovereignty is undermined and it has been condemned repeatedly by the UN. Indeed, it was quite the theme of Thatcherism – “There is no alternative”. She used the phrase many times during her extended/painful term of office. The truth is right wing governments are less interested in the good of society and more interested in rewarding loyalty.
This current government doesn’t any longer wish to engage with mass membership like trade unions. They are not attached or interested in stable social interests. Freedom has no place, democracy is degraded in favour of celebrity politics supported by fandom, sellotaped together into a network of personal favours and obligations to their wealthy sponsors.
They care little for truth. It’s all political theatre. They take pleasure in fermenting division with extreme language to describe their opponents, like mobs, woke, militants. Many of them born and accustomed to privilege. They see equality and fair distribution as oppressive!
If there was any doubt in those claims. Listen carefully on their open attacks on the European Court of Human Justice. They want to leave it and create their own Bill of Rights. Where would that leave us in terms of freedom? The ECHR protects our right to a fair trial. Freedom of assembly and expression. The right to participate in free elections. Freedom of religion. Freedom of discrimination. The right to privacy. Freedom from torture and degrading treatment. Do you really trust them to create a fair Bill of Rights – I don’t.
This is the real threat to freedom and human rights which they boast and push in the HoCs right up to the Prime Minister. Rishi Sunak “We clearly have a problem with Human Rights in this country”.
Their freedom is very different to mine, it’s a false freedom distorted to create division and to persecute. Let us reflect, once again on the theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial and remind ourselves of how the Nazis distorted and abused the ideal of freedom. When innocent people were march to their death, the gates at several concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Birkenau, welcomed prisoners with the now famous slogan.
‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ ‘Work gives you Freedom’.
There was no freedom. It paved the way to murder. Genocide is the ultimate manifestation of violence. It ends freedom to speak, to challenge, to protest, to live. Those who suffer today will never be free, at some point physically but never mentally free. That is the real dangers of what is happening in Gaza today and Ukraine.
What pains me more than anything today is watching the images of mass destructions and seeing terrified children being pulled from the rubble of bombed buildings. When I look into the eyes of my own grandchildren, holding them close to me, I feel sick to the core witnessing thousands of innocent children having to endure horrific conditions in conflict zones. 20,000 babies have been born in Gaza since the bombing started- how many will survive?
The killing and maiming of children is the most verified grave violation of human decency I have witnessed in my life and holding the perpetrators to account must be done! What about their freedom? The Freedom to grow up safely. The Freedom to play and be educated. The Freedom to realise their dreams and grow old. There are no words strong enough to describe the horrific conditions that children in armed conflict are enduring today.
Those who survive will be affected for life by the deep physical and emotional scars of war. Because when peace goes missing, children are the first to pay the price in war.
So, this year the theme is the Fragility of Freedom but it should also be about the fragility of life, a young, completely innocent life because when it comes to children’s lives, no effort should be spared to protect their right to live and be free. Those children are innocent bystanders caught up in the atrocities taken place around them. Let today’s theme extend to fighting for our children. Let’s stop the war on children to restore their freedom from pain and persecution. The pain must stop!
So today, let’s finish on a spirit of hope, as we remember those who fight to survive the atrocities of war every day. Those who have been scared by the inhumanity of conflict but who have survived and are still with us today.
Let’s embrace them for their courage, endurance, devotion, independence,
loyalty, honesty, and love BECAUSE the most powerful yet fragile of human emotions is as much about hope as it is about freedom. What we need most today is one another, while never forgetting that their lives and stories will never become a distant stranger.
These heinous events and those who survived them teach us many things, not least, the importance of commitment to one another and belief in what is right; of conscience and knowing the right thing to do and when to do it, feeling the pain of others and seeing the world through their eyes. They have inspired us to have the moral courage, irrespective of personal consequences to act on what in our hearts we know to be right.
If we fail to do this, it will render us blind to injustice, deaf to despair and indifferent to the future.
Elie Wisel – The Perils of Indifference!
“Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is the friend of the enemy for it benefits the aggressor – never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees- not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And, in denying their humanity, we betray our own. “
The most famous words that he spoke should be etched in the mind of all of us!
“I swore never to be silent whenever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides”.
And so must we!
Thank you
Alan Irwin
Today, over 80 years on, our trade unions continue to speak out and combat hatred, prejudice and discrimination. Holocaust Memorial Day offers trade unionists a great opportunity to continue to play their part creating a safer, better future by learning the lessons of the past and bear witness every day for human dignity and justice.
As an international movement we are proud of our record, standing firm against fascism, racism and discrimination. This day is an opportunity to reflect on the horrendous consequences that these evils can lead to, and to strengthen our commitment to equality and respect for all.
It is also a time for us to give thanks to those who have spoken up for all of us in the past and a reminder that we must always challenge and speak out against prejudice, discrimination, persecution and atrocities, and never let hatred win. This is as important today as at any time in history.
Here in the UK, and around the world, millions of people continue to face prejudice, discrimination and hostility simply because of their identity. Today is a day of commemoration and action to challenge these attitudes and behaviours, in order to build a better future together.
Holocaust Memorial Day encourages remembrance in a world scarred by genocide. As trade unions we promote and support the international day on 27 January to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of other people killed by the Nazis.
The Holocaust threatened the very fabric of civilisation. Today is for everyone to reflect and remember. Each year across the UK, thousands of people come together to remember the past and commit to take action to create a safer future. Standing together we bear witness for those who endured genocide and honour the survivors and all those whose lives were changed beyond recognition.
On our own doorsteps and across the globe the number of hate crimes grow each year. Prejudice against people’s religion, race, political affiliation, social class, gender, physical ability and sexual orientation. All on the rise, accentuated on right wing media platforms.
The theme this year is The Fragility of Freedom.
Two years ago, when I stood here talking about, the crimes of war it’s happening again, and with such ferocity, which has left tens of thousands of dead, many of them children, it’s painful and heart-breaking to watch. So, when we talk about freedom, what is clear is that in every genocide, it is those targeted for persecution who have had their freedom restricted and removed by murdering them in cold blood.
The concept of ‘Freedom is a theme we have visiting for hundreds of years. Often exposed through great speeches which connect to times of war. We could recite many of those great speeches from Martin Luther King to Nelson Mandela and I will use just a few from Mandela in 1964 that talks about the very essence of ‘freedom’.
“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Over the years, like so many of you, I’ve had numerous conversations with friends anxious about the state of the world and direction of the country and they always ask the question ‘But what can we really achieve when faced with such banal, insipid opposition. Their concern, possibly well founded, is that these forces lay far beyond their control, that there is nothing they can do to turn the tide of hate and discrimination.
I fundamentally disagree with that.
Because we frequently walk by opportunities to push back. All of us are different, have different strengths, different networks, different points of influence and different parts of our lives where we feel more confident to speak out or share our opinions.
And there are different things each one of us can do and that is, to stand in solidarity with the victims of hatred, discrimination, and cruelty.
Today, the enduring message is clear and for always…If we are going to defeat a dangerous and growing narrative of hate, intolerance and division finding a home in our communities, we have a responsibility, a duty to challenge and engage at every level both with those who preach it and those attracted to its opportunist and populist and evil messaging. That means leaving no section of our communities abandoned, or allowing our streets to be hijacked by those who seek to divide us.
That work, that commitment is never finished while we are still witnessing the alarming signs of a re-emergence of nationalism, populism and the far right and we cannot, and should not, stand by passively and watch the gradual erosion of human values and democratic norms governed by the rule of law. We cannot, and should not, accept the erosion of respect and decency, or that intolerance and violence is confused with freedom or justified by patriotic national pride.
The theme is the fragility of freedom – how far have we come? What have we learnt? In terms of what is unfolding today in Europe and across the Middle East, not much it would appear!.
In Ukraine, tens of thousands of innocent lives taken – murdered!
Israel, October 7th innocent lives taken – murdered!
The invasion and illegal occupation of Gaza – tens of thousands of innocent lives taken – murdered!
These are dangerous times that we live in.
It is heartbreaking to watch the atrocities that are escalating every day in Gaza. The TUC and most of its affiliated unions have always been a long-standing supporter of the Palestinian people with a policy that opposes the illegal occupation and blockade of Gaza opposed to settlement expansion and the condemnation of discriminatory actions that is consistent with international law. That support must continue and must be extended in calling for a permanent ceasefire right now. The killing must stop!!
As trade unionists, we are making a stand and to our pride, workers are doing that today! On December 7th over 1000 workers simultaneously blocked four arms factories across the UK, protesting Israel’s use of British manufactured fighter jet components used to attack Gaza.
These were teachers, health workers, hospitality workers, trade unionists coming together, including the GMB. And such action is happening right across Europe.
Unfortunately, too many who have chosen to speak out are being persecuted and harassed. Freedom of speech it seems, doesn’t extend to calling for a ceasefire for fear of being suspended at your place of work or using the language of genocide against the Israeli state. Their actions need to be called out and I am glad and applaud the South African government for bringing a case of genocide to the International Court of Justice, only yesterday. Who will stand with them?
Hate is the narrative today for so many and it’s on the move in the UK and across Europe. A rise in antisemitism, quadrupled in recent years A rise in attacks on Muslims in major cities has increased significantly with recent figures seeing the highest number of both antisemitism and Islamophobic incidents ever recorded in the past 5 years.
People are genuinely frightened! That is the real affront to Freedom , Frightened to speak out, Frightened to march in defiance, Frightened to protest while this government passes legislation to restrict the freedom of speech in public places.
Because, when you raise a torch, touch on questions relating to authority and the concentration of power you run into challenging barriers. Why? because your idea of freedom is not theirs. It is not, whatever you may think, your right, as they see it to challenge their authority. That is a privilege and the preserve of the ruling elite, as they see it.!
I do not believe that it is an exaggeration to say that the effort to take control of our lives is a dominant theme of today’s right-wing governments across the globe.
When we talk about freedom we talk about human beings, not abstract political and legal constructions, like corporations, states, or capital. All of this is talk about freedom and democracy is openly opposed by sectors of the wealthy and privileged. They believe – people have to be controlled for their own good in order to protect the minority of the wealthy elite from the majority and to keep the country governed by those who own it. As they see it!
Through economic cohesion freedom, sovereignty is undermined and it has been condemned repeatedly by the UN. Indeed, it was quite the theme of Thatcherism – “There is no alternative”. She used the phrase many times during her extended/painful term of office. The truth is right wing governments are less interested in the good of society and more interested in rewarding loyalty.
This current government doesn’t any longer wish to engage with mass membership like trade unions. They are not attached or interested in stable social interests. Freedom has no place, democracy is degraded in favour of celebrity politics supported by fandom, sellotaped together into a network of personal favours and obligations to their wealthy sponsors.
They care little for truth. It’s all political theatre. They take pleasure in fermenting division with extreme language to describe their opponents, like mobs, woke, militants. Many of them born and accustomed to privilege. They see equality and fair distribution as oppressive!
If there was any doubt in those claims. Listen carefully on their open attacks on the European Court of Human Justice. They want to leave it and create their own Bill of Rights. Where would that leave us in terms of freedom? The ECHR protects our right to a fair trial. Freedom of assembly and expression. The right to participate in free elections. Freedom of religion. Freedom of discrimination. The right to privacy. Freedom from torture and degrading treatment. Do you really trust them to create a fair Bill of Rights – I don’t.
This is the real threat to freedom and human rights which they boast and push in the HoCs right up to the Prime Minister. Rishi Sunak “We clearly have a problem with Human Rights in this country”.
Their freedom is very different to mine, it’s a false freedom distorted to create division and to persecute. Let us reflect, once again on the theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial and remind ourselves of how the Nazis distorted and abused the ideal of freedom. When innocent people were march to their death, the gates at several concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Birkenau, welcomed prisoners with the now famous slogan.
‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ ‘Work gives you Freedom’.
There was no freedom. It paved the way to murder. Genocide is the ultimate manifestation of violence. It ends freedom to speak, to challenge, to protest, to live. Those who suffer today will never be free, at some point physically but never mentally free. That is the real dangers of what is happening in Gaza today and Ukraine.
What pains me more than anything today is watching the images of mass destructions and seeing terrified children being pulled from the rubble of bombed buildings. When I look into the eyes of my own grandchildren, holding them close to me, I feel sick to the core witnessing thousands of innocent children having to endure horrific conditions in conflict zones. 20,000 babies have been born in Gaza since the bombing started- how many will survive?
The killing and maiming of children is the most verified grave violation of human decency I have witnessed in my life and holding the perpetrators to account must be done! What about their freedom? The Freedom to grow up safely. The Freedom to play and be educated. The Freedom to realise their dreams and grow old. There are no words strong enough to describe the horrific conditions that children in armed conflict are enduring today.
Those who survive will be affected for life by the deep physical and emotional scars of war. Because when peace goes missing, children are the first to pay the price in war.
So, this year the theme is the Fragility of Freedom but it should also be about the fragility of life, a young, completely innocent life because when it comes to children’s lives, no effort should be spared to protect their right to live and be free. Those children are innocent bystanders caught up in the atrocities taken place around them. Let today’s theme extend to fighting for our children. Let’s stop the war on children to restore their freedom from pain and persecution. The pain must stop!
So today, let’s finish on a spirit of hope, as we remember those who fight to survive the atrocities of war every day. Those who have been scared by the inhumanity of conflict but who have survived and are still with us today.
Let’s embrace them for their courage, endurance, devotion, independence,
loyalty, honesty, and love BECAUSE the most powerful yet fragile of human emotions is as much about hope as it is about freedom. What we need most today is one another, while never forgetting that their lives and stories will never become a distant stranger.
These heinous events and those who survived them teach us many things, not least, the importance of commitment to one another and belief in what is right; of conscience and knowing the right thing to do and when to do it, feeling the pain of others and seeing the world through their eyes. They have inspired us to have the moral courage, irrespective of personal consequences to act on what in our hearts we know to be right.
If we fail to do this, it will render us blind to injustice, deaf to despair and indifferent to the future.
Elie Wisel – The Perils of Indifference!
“Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is the friend of the enemy for it benefits the aggressor – never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees- not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And, in denying their humanity, we betray our own. “
The most famous words that he spoke should be etched in the mind of all of us!
“I swore never to be silent whenever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides”.
And so must we!
Thank you
Alan Irwin
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