Don’t fall for fake news – powerful video message from UON on Holocaust Memorial Day

Today the University of Northampton is marking Holocaust Memorial Day with a series of online events – find out more.

As part of the day, Father Andrew Behrens from the University’s Multi-Faith Chaplaincy Team, has recorded a powerful video message – watch it below.

In it, he warns of the damage fake news is doing to society and links it back to the rise of the Nazi Party in 1930s Germany.

Father Behrens said: “Fake news is nothing new. It goes back to the Nazi regime, where we are told: if you tell a lie that is big enough, and tell it often enough, people will believe it. And that is still happening today.”

Father Behrens also recites the University of Northampton’s Statement of Commitment to remembering the Holocaust, which reads:

• We recognise that the Holocaust shook the foundations of modern civilisation and its unprecedented character and horror continues to hold universal meaning.
• We will strive to ensure that future generations are made aware of the Holocaust and other more recent genocides, for example, in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda – and reflect upon their consequences. We vow to remember the victims of all genocides and will also do all in our power to prevent future genocides from occurring.
• We are proud of our diverse, multicultural, multi-racial and multi-faith community. We pledge to strengthen our efforts to promote education and research about the Holocaust and other acts of genocide/injustice/discrimination. We will do our utmost to ensure that the lessons learnt from these events are fully understood and disseminated.
• We value the sacrifices of those who risked their lives to protect or rescue victims of the Holocaust and other genocides as a permanent reminder of the human capacity for good in the face of evil.
• We recognise that humanity is still scarred by the misconception that some people’s lives are worth less than others because of their disability, race, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexuality. Racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, homophobia and discrimination still persist, and we have a shared responsibility to fight these evils.
• We value the right of all to live in a free, tolerant, just and democratic society. We believe that the Holocaust and all other genocides must have a permanent place in our collective memory and we honour the survivors still with us.

Event organiser, Dr Paul Jackson, has written a blog for the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right, which you can read by clicking the link below.

Remembering the Holocaust Memorial Day in 2021