Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration
The National Literacy Trust has teamed up with award-winning author Tom Palmer to produce free resources for use in the school classroom or at home, to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.
When is Holocaust Memorial Day?
International Holocaust Memorial Day is commemorated on 27 January every year, and this year falls on Monday 27 January 2025.
What is Holocaust Memorial Day?
As defined by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Holocaust Memorial Day is the international day on 27 January to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of people murdered under Nazi persecution of other groups and during more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
Further information about Holocaust Memorial Day can be found on the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s website, and you might find this enhanced guidance useful.
How we can support you to teach about Holocaust Memorial Day
To mark Holocaust Memorial Day, our live event and accompanying resources aim to support young people’s literacy skills while helping them learn about the past. We hope to inspire them to work toward a future where hatred and persecution are challenged.
The National Literacy Trust’s research shows that writing can help children and young people to make sense of the world, participate in civic life, and put themselves into the shoes of others. Our live event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day offered in partnership with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is an invaluable opportunity to reflect on the stories and lessons of the Holocaust, while promoting empathy and understanding in young people.
The event is supported by classroom resources which encourage pupils to engage in non-fiction writing, sharing survivors’ stories and their experiences after liberation. This work is inspired by the writings of author Tom Palmer, and the resources explore the processes involved in creating written pieces that have been well-researched and sensitively crafted.
These new resources are designed to be used with pupils aged 11 to 14 (Key Stage 3/S1 to S3).
As in previous years, we have worked with author Tom Palmer to plan and deliver a suite of resources and a free event to support teaching on this challenging subject, including a special film made by Paul Hill.
For primary teachers, our This is not a story resources, which are age-appropriate for pupils aged 10 to 11 (Year 6/P7), continue to be available, together with Tom's recorded readings of his work.
Holocaust Memorial Day online event (ages 11 to 14)
Secondary teachers and students are invited to join us for a free online commemoration event featuring award-winning writer, Tom Palmer, author of After The War in conversation with Holocaust survivor, Alfred Garwood and Child survivor, Antoinette Mutabazi.
Date: Monday 27 January
Time: 10.00 to 10.45
Suitable for: pupils aged 11 to 14 (KS3/S1 to S3) and their teachers
Teaching resources for Holocaust Memorial Day 2025
For pupils aged 11 to 14 (KS3/S1 to S3)
New resources are now available to download ready for you to review in advance of the commemoration week and our live event. Resources include:
- A teacher guide outlining the resources and writing outcome, with ideas and sources to support your delivery of the project.
- A bespoke film created by Tom Palmer where he explores his non-fiction writing process through retelling a survivors story, taken from real-life testimony highlighting stories of life after liberation.
- A non-fiction writing activity encouraging pupils to share a story which they have explored, teaching others about the importance of hearing and sharing real stories about the Holocaust and life after.
- A booklist of recommended reads to support the teaching of this important subject.
- A specially written retelling of Mayer Hersh's story written by Tom Palmer.
- A carefully compiled writing scrapbook made by Tom Palmer.
- Seven survivor profiles to support pupils with their non-fiction writing.
- Two survivor profile templates to be used during the live event.
Watch Tom Palmer reflect on his writing practice for retelling the story of Mayer Hersh
Resources for pupils aged 10 to 11 (Year 6/P7)
You can download This is not a story resources at the bottom of this page. These are designed for use with Year 6 upwards, and the resources include:
- A teacher guide outlining the resources and writing outcome, with ideas and sources to support your delivery of the project.
- A PowerPoint presentation with video from Tom Palmer, to introduce the story and resources to pupils.
- A story written specially for Holocaust Memorial Day in five instalments by author Tom Palmer.
- Five videos by Tom Palmer with five follow-up activities linked to each instalment of the story (pupil activity sheets included)
- A reflective writing activity encouraging pupils to share what they have learnt and discuss the importance of hearing real stories about the Holocaust.
- A booklist of recommended reads to support the teaching of this important subject.
Supporting video and audio resources for KS2
Supporting the downloadable teacher guidance, writing activities, and five-part story, we have recordings of Tom Palmer reading each section of the story. You can watch each part of the story from our full playlist. In addition there are supporting audio files that are referenced in the guidance and resources, and available for you to listen to here:
A note from the National Literacy Trust
By its very nature the subject of the Holocaust is extremely upsetting. Tom's new film, the 2025 live event and our linked resources are created to be appropriate for pupils aged 11 to 14 (Years 7, 8 and 9). However, we know that we all find the Holocaust tough to comprehend and process, and for some pupils it might be too much for them to hear about. You will know your pupils the best. Materials have been made available in advance. Please watch the film and read through the resources beforehand to ensure that you are able to support your class if you are sharing these with students during the week of Holocaust Memorial Day.
Pupils' work
Schools will be able to submit their pupils' writing inspired by these resources. Read more about this in the Teacher Guide (in the free downloads below). Some of these will be published on our website when promoting next year's offer (with your permission). You can view previous entries here.
More resources
Further Holocaust Memorial Day resources, including free CPD for teachers, can be accessed from UCL's Centre for Holocaust Education. These include resources relating to After The War.