Holocaust remembrance: People should never forget

Ninety-year-old survivor Liesel Carter spoke at a Leeds event for Holocaust Memorial Day about fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939 and the loss of more than 200 family members; the day's national theme is 'bridging the generations'.

Liesel Carter, now 90, spoke in Leeds ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January. She was four when she travelled alone from Nazi Germany to England in 1939 and was later reunited with her mother in Leeds. Liesel says she lost more than 200 family members during the Holocaust and only learned details about some relatives decades later. The national theme for 2026 is "bridging the generations," and communities across the UK held commemorations. Key details: - Liesel Carter travelled to England in 1939 at age four and later lived in Leeds. - She reports losing more than 200 members of her family during the Holocaust and learning more about their fates in later decades. - Carter spoke at Leeds City Varieties at an event marking Holocaust Memorial Day; the 2026 theme is "bridging the generations." - She was awarded a British Empire Medal in the 2025 New Year Honours for her work in Holocaust education and remembrance. Summary: Liesel's testimony formed part of local and national commemorations intended to pass survivors' stories to younger generations and to humanise historical loss. Events are taking place across the country, including at the Holocaust Centre North in Huddersfield, and school pupils and community groups joined the Leeds ceremony.