City church marks Holocaust Memorial Day

01/02/10

St Margaret Pattens hosted a performance of the award-winning play And Then They Came For Me – Remembering the World of Anne Frank. The performance, which was packed with business and community leaders of all faiths and none, was followed by a Q&A session with Eva Schloss, Holocaust survivor, writer, grandmother and step sister of Anne Frank.

This is the first time that a church has hosted the award winning play, which has previously been performed in prisons and schools.

The performance was welcomed by the Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres who said:

"I am delighted that this important play is being hosted at St Margaret Pattens, which has been a place of refuge, peace and worship for hundreds of years. This play’s message is as important today as it ever was, so that the present generations do not repeat the mistakes of the past and that love and tolerance should prevail over hatred."

Speaking before the event eighty-year-old Ms Schloss, who now lives in London, said:

"I am pleased that the play is being performed at St Margaret Pattens on Holocaust day thanks to the Revd Hugh Thomas. Unfortunately, many young people do not know very much about what happened in the last century, how hatred and prejudice prevailed and prevented people from resisting evil. Through knowledge of what happened then, we are trying to prevent a repetition of such horrors."

The play's Muslim director and producer Nic Careem now plans to take the show on a tour of Israel, China, and India as part of the global "Hatebuster" campaign. He said:

"Eva’s story isn't merely an awful history lesson. It is a warning. We sometimes reassure ourselves that these horrors occurred in a different time. But it is worth considering that the Nazi era was born in one of the most advanced and civilized nations our species had ever known - a country that produced Goethe and Beethoven. And what’s more, it was introduced in a democracy."

The Revd Hugh Thomas of Margaret St Pattens said:

"We are very pleased to host this important play at the church, which has been a place of refuge, peace and worship for all for hundreds of years. This play’s message is as important today as it ever was so that the present generations do not repeat the mistakes of the past and that love and tolerance should prevail over hatred.

"This is a message common to many faiths and so it is good that the play now comes to a Christian church in the City with an open door to all. My heartfelt thanks goes to Eva. She is a truly remarkable woman, energetic and committed after all these years to sharing her story with us all."