Next week’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) commemoration in Jersey will involve more second and third generation survivors than ever, reflecting this year’s national theme of ‘Bridging Generations’.

The number of descendants involved in the ceremony on Tuesday, 27 January is more than double the number who took part last year. At least 44 wreaths are due to be laid at the Lighthouse Memorial on the New North Quay in memory of those who suffered Nazi persecution during the Second World War. Of these, 12 will be laid by 19 people who live to tell their relative’s story. In 2025, there were 39 wreaths, with five of these laid by nine descendants.

Included in this group of descendants is Dr Kevin White, who is travelling to Jersey from England to lay a wreath in memory of his grandfather; Frederick Page was tried for ‘wireless offences’ during the Occupation and sentenced to 21 months in prison. He died in Naumberg on 5 January 1945. Page is one of the ‘Jersey 21’ inscribed on the Lighthouse Memorial and was one of 25 people memorialised in Jersey last year as part of the Stolpersteine project.

Kevin, who last came to Jersey in 2014 for the HMD commemoration, said: “My presence at this year’s ceremony will honour my grandfather, a man of huge courage and with a detestation of antisemitism and Nazi evil. I hope it will remind people that the events of the Occupation are recent and still have an impact on families. HMD is an excellent opportunity for young people to learn about their past and my grandfather’s story is particularly pertinent to pass down the generations as he was prepared to die for human rights when he fell foul of one of the vilest regimes in history.”

Ahead of the wreath-laying, visiting guest speaker Helen Stone will share the story of her mother, Emmy Golding, who survived the Holocaust by who coming to England as a Jewish refugee from Germany in May 1939. Helen is a founder member and Associate Director of Generation 2 Generation, an organisation that trains the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors to tell their family stories. She is one of Generation 2 Generation’s 41 speakers.

HMD is a time to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, and millions more people murdered through the Nazi persecution of other groups. It also marks the more recent genocides recognised by the UK government, as well as the genocide in Darfur.

The local commemoration will take place in the Occupation Tapestry Gallery at the Maritime Museum and at the Lighthouse Memorial on the New North Quay. The ceremony is delivered for the Office of the Bailiff by Jersey Heritage in partnership with Jersey Jewish Congregation, Jersey Arts Centre and the UK Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.

In addition to Helen Stone, this year’s ceremony will involve students from Victoria College and Jersey College for Girls, who will be laying a flower on each of the names of the ‘Jersey 21’ inscribed on the Lighthouse Memorial.

Students from Les Quennevais School will also lay a wreath for all those who continue to suffer from hatred, bigotry, racism and in conflicts the world over. Local musicians, the Julie Riley and Vanessa Moore Violin Duo will perform carefully selected pieces composed during the Holocaust, or originating from it, as people arrive for the commemoration and leave the Occupation Tapestry Gallery to lay wreaths.

Chris Addy, one of the organisers of the local HMD commemoration and Jersey Heritage’s WWII Fortifications Curator, said: “The local commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day continues to grow and develop each year, as demonstrated by the increase in the number of wreaths and wreath-layers taking part in the 2026 ceremony. This increase is partly due to last year’s Stolpersteine project, which brought us into contact with more descendants. We are honoured to welcome everyone who comes together to remember those who suffered at the hands of Nazi persecution, but it is especially moving to have the presence of family members, who help us to keep alive these important stories while also celebrating the lives of those who have followed.”

In addition to the local commemoration, Jersey will be participating in the HMD Trust’s ‘Light the Darkness’ project which will see landmarks across the British Isles illuminated in purple. Footage from Jersey of the Lighthouse Memorial lit up will be included in local and national social media coverage on the evening of 27 January.