Guest blog by Sara Pickering, Deputy Head of Mission
I read this sentence in my guidebook before visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1992 and found it hard to believe. But once there, you can almost touch the memories and echoes of the evil that happened. It was, indeed, silent.
I have been reading recently about two British heroes of the holocaust, staff of the former British Consulate General in Frankfurt. British Consul General Robert T. Smallbones and Vice Consul Arthur Dowden allowed the consulate building to be used as a refuge. They created the “Smallbones Visa Scheme” which offered temporary refuge in the UK and was used by tens of thousands of Jews to escape Germany. There are plaques commemorating their efforts in London and in Frankfurt.
They are a shining example of courage and determination for everyone, not just for diplomats like me. We should all remember and reflect upon the Holocaust and educate future generations about its causes and consequences. 70 years on from the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, we must work tirelessly to prevent genocides and mass atrocities worldwide.