The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is launching a nationwide initiative to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

80 Candles for 80 Years will see 80 communities across the country each design and create a unique candleholder telling the story of an individual or community persecuted by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

“These pieces of art will serve as tributes, shedding light on the lives and experiences of those affected by one of the darkest chapters in human history,” said a spokesperson for HMDT.

The final 80 candleholders will be presented in a digital exhibition to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, which is always held on January 27, when Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated in 1945.

Television presenter and broadcaster Rob Rinder, who is the grandson of a Holocaust survivor and chair of the HMDT 2025 advisory group, said: “I’d like you to remember that we have all within our gift the capacity to learn from the past in order to build a better future and that we, all of us, can be a light in the darkness.”

Rob Rinder, who is the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, is involved in the 80 Candles for 80 Years project in his role as chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 advisory group. Pictured here at Treblinka with his mother Angela Cohen in the BBC programme My Family, the Holocaust and Me (Photo: Tom Hayward)

Toni Griffiths, HMDT’s head of outreach, said she hoped the 80 Candles for 80 Years theme would empower communities.

She said: “The significance of this project lies not only in its commemorative nature but also in its educational aspect. It provides a platform for dialogue and reflection, ensuring that the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten.”

The candleholders are expected to be designed in a wide variety of community settings, including schools, craft groups, prisons, faith groups, local businesses and libraries.

Participants will be encouraged to learn about the Holocaust before creating a personal response through art.

Organisers hope the candle project, along with next year’s theme for “a better future”, will also be a chance to confront Holocaust and genocide denial.

HMDT chief executive Olivia Marks-Woldman said the theme “underscores a critical truth, that even 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, the fight against intolerance and prejudice is far from over”.

She added: “Our theme is a call to action. Our collective challenge is to build a better future, one where the dignity of every human being is protected and where prejudice is never allowed to become normalised.”

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