The weight of commemorating the horrors of the Holocaust would be a burden for anyone. This year, part of that burden falls on the shoulders of a young woman who acknowledges that before she joined the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust she knew very little of this part of history.
Carly Whyborn is the chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, which supports events and activities around Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations in the UK.
The first Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK took place in 2001 and was initially run by the Home Office, but has been run by the trust since 2005. The independent charitable trust, with only a small team, provides year-round professional support to ensure as many people as possible commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January, the day the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was liberated by Soviet troops.
This year is the 65th anniversary.
Whyborn started out in the commercial world, but decided to move into the charity sector and joined the trust when it was first formed, as PA to the then chief executive.
"I was looking for a new role because the corporate sector doesn't do it for me," she says. "I want to feel the work I'm putting in is making a difference. My skills were as a PA and support, and this brand-new trust came up and I thought it could be interesting, although I knew nothing about the Holocaust."
When I first joined, I immersed myself completely. I didn't read or watch anything that wasn't connected with what I was doing. And then I found I had to step back, because it is a lot to shoulder, but it's something we need to do
That changed very quickly. "When I first joined, I immersed myself completely. I didn't read or watch anything that wasn't connected with what I was doing. And then I found I had to step back, because it is a lot to shoulder, but it's something we need to do," she says.
Having joined as a PA, Whyborn made the still relatively unusual move from that role into the position of chief executive 18 months ago. "I was asked by the chair if I wanted to step up. I got very tense about the move but I think I'm doing all right," she says.
PAs are underestimated. They are the people who know what's going on. I set out in a straight PA role, but it was clear that online was the way forward for us and no one else in the organisation was pushing for that. I took that on and I think that by using my initiative, I was able to progress."
In fact, she admits, her biggest challenge has been letting go of the more hands-on aspects of working in a small organisation. "Because I'd been there since day one, I know everything about the organisation, from who supplies the paper to who to get hold of ministers. So the biggest challenge is letting go and saying I've got staff whom I trust to take things forward."
Whyborn emphasises that the trust wants people to learn from the past. "The main aim of the trust is to use the lessons of the past to reflect on where we are now and create a better future.
Genocide doesn't happen overnight. It's a steady process, that starts right at the bottom level when we don't respect the differences between people. We are very lucky: we don't live in Pol Pot's Cambodia. But there is name-calling, there is bullying in schools; we hear of instances of hate crime here in the UK."
This year, of course, with the 65th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau liberation, there is a real sense of the growing frailty of the remaining survivors of the Holocaust.
Working with the survivors is one of the most rewarding aspects of her job, says Whyborn. Although it can be harrowing, survivors teach us all so much, she says. "They are regular people, who have been through this unimaginable suffering and we hear incredible stories of hope, courage and passion.
This year, more than ever, we have to celebrate the survivors, because they are, sadly, becoming older and more frail. Each year, we have a different theme and this year it is the legacy of hope. We want people to pause for a moment and listen to the voice of the survivors."
