Next Tuesday marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp where more than one million European Jews were murdered in gas chambers. British survivors of the Holocaust are expected to gather in central London for an event themed around the phrase ‘keep the memory alive’. The BBC is marking the anniversary, commemorated annually around the world as Holocaust memorial day, with a series of programmes including a screening of Shoah, Claude Lanzmann’s acclaimed 10-hour documentary from 1985. Other events are taking place around the world in countries such as Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand and Japan.
For most members of Europe’s Jewish community, whose family and friends endured the horrors of the second world war, memories are never too distant. Since then, for the most part, Europe has been a safe place to live but events in Paris two weeks ago have significantly raised concerns for some Jewish communities.
Since the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices and the subsequent targeting of a kosher supermarket which left four Jewish shoppers dead, there have been heightened security measures for Jewish communities in Europe. Following the killings the French government has deployed several thousand troops and gendarmes to protect Jewish sites, in Belgium soldiers and police have been deployed too after a suspected terrorist plot was thwarted there, and in the UK the Home secretary Theresa May has ordered increased police patrols in Jewish areas.
We’d like to hear from members of the Jewish community about how they’re commemorating the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and what it means for you and your family.
We’d also like to find out your perspectives on being Jewish in Europe. Is the increased police presence in your area helping to make you feel more secure – or having the opposite effect? Is there an impact on your family or community?
You can share your photos and perspectives via GuardianWitnss by clicking on the blue ‘Contribute’ button on this article. Or if you’re using a smartphone about you can download the GuardianWitness app or look for our assignments in the new Guardian app and search for ‘GuardianWitness assignments’.
If you’d prefer to contribute anonymously then you can share your perspectives in the form below
