Holocaust Memorial Day: 27 January

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 have a busy engagement programme lined up.

14 January: Dr Alasdair Richardson took part in a Parliamentary Reception with the Holocaust Educational Trust.

22 January: Dr Alasdair Richardson will be one of the speakers in a Holocaust Educational Trust webcast. The event is open to schools, organisations and individuals; register for the webcast here.

23 January: Dr Alasdair Richardson will deliver a session for Initial Teacher Education in Religious Education trainees across the south, ‘Teaching about the Holocaust in RE’.

27 January: Dr Alasdair Richardson and Dr Emily Stiles will deliver a talk for Year 9 pupils at Westgate School in Winchester

29 January: HMD Roundtable discussion organised by History students, to be made available as a podcast.

30 January: Dr Alasdair Richardson will participate in an HMD day for Year 9 pupils at Salesian College, Farnborough

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

6 February: Dr Alasdair Richardson will be delivering a paper titled ‘Looking, but choosing not to see – how educators manage self-care and well-being at sites of dark tourism’ at an evening dedicated to exploring children's mental health and wellbeing at the University. Join us for a celebration of our ongoing collaborative work across the region with Children’s Mental Health. We will welcome 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. Book your free ticket here.

18 February: Dr Alasdair Richardson will be delivering 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