The UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation urgently wants to hear from survivors and those affected by Nazi persecution who have never told their story but would like the opportunity to do so before it’s too late.

Sir Peter Bazalgette, the chair of the new UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation set up to deliver the recommendations of the Prime Minister’s Holocaust Commission, is appealing to individuals to come forward if they know of survivors who have never told their stories.

The new foundation, chaired by Sir Peter, was launched by the Prime Minister on Holocaust Memorial Day and is tasked with securing a site for the new world-class learning centre, commissioning a national memorial to the Holocaust and establishing the endowment fund to support projects across the country.

International audit

But, under Sir Peter’s leadership, work has already begun on the most urgent of the tasks – an international audit is underway, establishing what UK survivor testimony already exists, where it is being held and how it has been recorded.

Time is running out

The Foundation is working with the world’s leading institutions – including the Imperial War Museum, Yad Vashem, Wiener Library, The Holocaust Centre near Newark and America’s Shoah Foundation - to make the most complete national picture in UK history. The most pressing purpose of this work is to identify gaps. Time is running out to capture the testimony of people who have never told their stories. Every month of delay would mean losing survivors and the opportunity to record valuable histories forever.

Sir Peter said:

“Now, before it’s too late, we need your help. If you are a survivor - or you know a survivor - who would like to tell their story for the first time, please e-mail us at UKHMF@cabinetoffice.gov.uk or write to The UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation, PO Box 72270, London, SW1P 9WU.

“Survivor testimony is our most powerful educational tool. It is essential to Britain’s leading academic work and our best defence against prejudice and denial. The stories of these remarkable individuals will be the bedrock of everything we will go on to do in the national Learning Centre and in education projects around the country. Please help us find them.”

All survivors who come forward will have their name recorded in the official UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation audit. A number of survivors will then be identified to be recorded in high tech formats as part of a national library of testimony representing the range of experiences of the UK’s survivor community.

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Photo from the Jewish Chronicle Online: Communities Secretary Eric Pickles presents a medal to Sue McEldon, niece of British soldier William Keeble who helped save a Jewish girl from the Nazis