People gathered in Combe Down to mark Holocaust Memorial Day with the planting of a tree at the entrance to Mulberry Park, the new CURO development of housing, open spaces and community facilities on the site of the former war time Ministry of Defence (Admiralty) offices at Fox Hill.
The tree planting project was initiated by B&NES Faith Foundation whose Patron is Cllr Sarah Bevan, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor.
The site at Mulberry Park is also close to Bath’s historic Jewish Burial Ground which has been researched and restored over the past 20 years to identify those buried there and learn more about the lives and circumstances of Bath’s Jewish community.
Chair of Friends of the Jewish Burial Ground is Christina Hilsenrath whose mother came from Berlin on the Kindertransport in1939 that rescued some 10,000 predominantly Jewish children prior to the outbreak of WWll. Also supporting the planting is Combe Down Heritage Society, dedicated to keeping alive Local Heritage for future generations.
The Memorial tree planting was attended by Mayor of Bath, Cllr Rob Appleyard who gave a short speech – as did Cllr Sarah Bevan, the Patron of Faith Foundation, Christina Hilsenrath, friends of JBG, and Jodie Winter Sales Manager at CURO.
My thanks to Val Lyon for the above report and the following message.
“The Holocaust of the Second World War when the Nazis attempted to erase certain peoples from their world was deemed to be beyond comprehension. The brutal destruction and attempted annihilation of Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and other so called ‘Undesirables’ using inhumane treatment in the concentration camps was regarded by the rest of the world as something that should never be forgotten. Together we aim that it should not ever be forgotten.”
Photos courtesy of Rebecca Faith.
