Holocaust Memorial Day

University of Winchester staff and students have wide-ranging expertise and research interests around the important topic of the Holocaust. Research in History focusses on memory and representation of this traumatic period of modern history, while research in Philosophy of Education concentrates on Holocaust education, young persons’ emotional engagement with the Holocaust and the role of women in Nazi Germany. Staff and students work closely with external organisations such as the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, as well as museums such as the Imperial War Museum. They have published extensively and developed teaching and museum resources.

Holocaust survivor Steven Frank was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University, has visited us and spoken to our students - the memorial tree he planted on our campus grounds several years ago is thriving. To find out more about Steven, see below.

Public Engagement

Holocaust Memorial Day 2025

For HMD 2025, our staff, students and partners once again had a busy engagement programme.

Film Production students have been helping the inclusive Blue Apple Theatre company, which is based at the University, to make a video to mark HMD 2025 and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Journalism Student Francesca Pritchard has produced a video using archival footage provided by the Holocaust Memorials Trust's Lessons from Auschwitz project. Find out more about our Lessons from Auschwitz collaboration.

Modern History student Raegan Kingett organised a roundtable discussion with leading interdisciplinary academics from the universities of Winchester and Southampton on the study of Genocide across the Twentieth Century. Topics discussed were how Genocide is represented through Social Media, gender violence, and how we can best teach future generations of past Genocides and keep victims' stories alive. The discussion is available as a podcast.

In the course of January, Dr Alasdair Richardson took part in a Parliamentary Reception with the Holocaust Educational Trust, was one of the speakers in a Holocaust Educational Trust webcast for schools, organisations and individuals, delivered the session ‘Teaching about the Holocaust in RE’ for Initial Teacher Education in Religious Education trainees across the South, participated in an HMD day for Year 9 pupils at Salesian College, Farnborough, and, with Dr Emily Stiles, delivered a talk for Year 9 pupils at Westgate School in Winchester.

On 5 February, Dr Alasdair Richardson and Dr Emily Stiles participated in a British & Irish Association for Holocaust Studies online conference. Dr Stiles is the President and Dr Richardson is a Board member.

On 6 February, Dr Alasdair Richardson delivered a paper titled ‘Looking, but choosing not to see – how educators manage self-care and wellbeing at sites of dark tourism’ at an evening dedicated to exploring children's mental health and wellbeing at the University. At this celebration of our ongoing collaborative work across the region with Children’s Mental Health, we welcomed speakers from the Universities of Winchester, Bournemouth and Gloucester and a local primary school teacher, as well as from our partner the children’s mental health charity Stormbreak. Read the full story.

On 18 February, Dr Alasdair Richardson delivered a session on visiting sites of dark tourism with young people at the Holocaust Educational Trust’s annual UK Residential for teachers.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2024

Holocaust Memorial Day 2023

To mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2023, Holocaust Education specialists Dr Alasdair Richardson and Cat Kirkland teamed up with two modern historians, Holocaust memory/representation expert Dr Emiliano Perra and museums specialist Dr Emily Stiles, for a panel discussion around the HMD 2023 theme of Ordinary People. In a fascinating hour-long meeting of minds, they explored the concept of ordinariness in the context of total war, the ordinary vs the extraordinary, the role of iconic figures (both good and bad) in public perceptions of the Holocaust and in the curriculum, shifts in Holocaust Studies and Holocaust Education, perceptions of victims and perpetrators, and much more along the way. Watch the full video below.

Background image: Holocaust experts Dr Emiliano Perra, Dr Emily Stiles, Dr Alasdair Richardson and Cat Kirkland explored Holocaust education and representation and the HMD 2023 theme 'Ordinary people' during a panel discussion.

Find out more and meet our Holocaust experts