3. Statement by the Minister for Social Justice: Holocaust Memorial Day 2023

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:27 pm on 24 January 2023.

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Photo of Jane Hutt Jane Hutt Labour 3:27, 24 January 2023

Thank you very much, indeed, Jenny Rathbone, recognising that so much was suppressed, so much in our generation—in fact, in many family histories across this Chamber. We need to revisit that history.

Some Members may have had the opportunity—if you haven't, I do recommend it—to watch How the Holocaust Began, which was a film broadcast last night presented by James Bulgin. It was about the atrocities leading to the Holocaust. Again, it's unravelling the history that led to the Holocaust—the poisonous ideology that was being developed of ordinary people betraying their neighbours. All of this led up to the establishment of the camps as a result of mass shootings becoming unsustainable—Jewish people just being murdered. I've mentioned T4 in terms of disabled people. I think one of the horrific things that was said is that they referred to disabled people as 'life unworthy of life'.

I can assure you that we're taking Lord Mann’s report very seriously, but it is about what can we do in terms of that history. I would just say that this is really important, I think, with the new opportunities with the curriculum. Diversity is a cross-cutting theme in the Curriculum for Wales. We've also led the way becoming the first part of the UK to make it mandatory to teach black, Asian and minority ethnic histories, contributions and experiences as part of the story of Wales in the curriculum, with statutory guidance that makes it very clear the opportunities for our learners, but also helping our teaching profession as well with the diversity and anti-racism professional learning. And this, of course, will help in terms of widening our understanding of what history actually means—living history—for our learners in Wales.