Tyne & Wear Archives to mark Holocaust Memorial Day this January

Image: View of some of the 20km of shelving at Tyne & Wear Archives

Tyne & Wear Archives is marking Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 with two free events on Wednesday 24 January 2024, exploring North East Jewish heritage. The events form part of Newcastle City Council’s wider Holocaust Memorial Day programme.

From 10am – 12.30pm, a behind-the-scenes tour of Tyne & Wear Archives offers the chance to examine fascinating material held in the archives relating to the North East region’s Jewish heritage. The event is free, but booking is essential as places are limited. 

A livestreamed online talk – Survivors: Children’s Lives After the Holocaust – will be delivered by Durham University’s Professor Rebecca Clifford, at 2pm. A British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter will accompany this talk.

The online talk is inspired by Professor Clifford’s extensive research of the post-war lives of child survivors of the Holocaust, tracing the experiences of 100 child survivors through seven decades from 1945 to the present. This research led to the award-winning book of the same name. The online talk is free, and booking is essential. 

Lizzy Baker, Archives Lead at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, said:   

“We always enjoy sharing material from the archives with visitors, and we work with a diverse range of communities to help share stories about their history and heritage.

“Tyne & Wear Archives has been working with the local Jewish community since 2017 on a number of heritage projects.”

Fragility of Freedom is the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2024. These events are part of a programme of activty taking places across the city.

Tyne & Wear Archives, based in Discovery Museum, is home to thousands of documents, housed on 20km of shelving, relating to the five local districts of Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside.

Discovery Museum tells the story of Newcastle, Tyneside and the people who have lived and worked here, showcasing world changing inventions, innovation and Geordie spirit over three floors of galleries. Open Monday – Friday 10am – 4pm and weekends 11am – 4pm, Discovery Museum has a changing programme of events and has free entry, with donations welcome.

Please contact Jonathan.Loach@twmuseums.org.uk