“Reflecting on History: BBC Commemorates Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 and 80 Years Since Auschwitz’s Liberation”

The BBC is planning to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January 2025, alongside the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, featuring a diverse array of programming across TV, Radio, and Online, in addition to comprehensive coverage of the Auschwitz Ceremony from Poland and remembrance events throughout the UK.

Throughout the day, coverage will be available on BBC News and the BBC News channel, tracking the main events and offering insights, context, and sharing personal narratives.

Fiona Bruce will present live from Auschwitz for a special programme on BBC One starting at 2.30pm, featuring the commemoration ceremony held at the camp. Fiona will engage with a Holocaust survivor and converse with attendees regarding the historical and present-day significance of Auschwitz.

In the later hours on BBC One and iPlayer from 7pm, survivors and distinguished guests will participate in a unique commemoration event to honor Holocaust Memorial Day, which is hosted by Reeta Chakrabarti to remember the six million Jewish individuals who were brutally exterminated by the Nazis during the Holocaust, as well as other victims of Nazi oppression. The ceremony will additionally honor those who fell victim to the genocide in Bosnia three decades ago, along with recent genocides. Through music, readings, and powerful personal accounts, the memory of these tragic events will be preserved. Participants include cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, The Countess of Wessex’s String Orchestra, and Rob Rinder.

Three new television documentaries will delve into the enduring effects of the Holocaust:

In “What Happened at Auschwitz” on BBC One and iPlayer (20 January at 8.30pm), BBC journalist and acclaimed presenter Jordan Dunbar reveals that this harrowing chapter in history is regrettably being eroded by misinformation and cultural neglect. Jordan explores the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in Poland and interviews survivors who share their experiences.

On BBC Two and iPlayer, an extraordinary feature documentary, “The Last Musician of Auschwitz” (27 January at 9pm), narrates the story of Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who at 99 is the last surviving member of the Women’s Orchestra at Auschwitz. The film includes poignant first-person accounts from Anita alongside musical performances at the Auschwitz site, featuring the UK broadcast premiere of “Lullaby” — a composition created at the camp by Polish political prisoner Adam Kopyciński.

In a further commission scheduled for later in the year, esteemed historian Sir Simon Schama will confront the history of the Holocaust in the most intimate and candid film of his career, “Simon Schama: The Holocaust – 80 Years On.” Despite a lifetime dedicated to documenting Jewish history, this film captures Simon’s inaugural visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Listeners of BBC Radio 3 will experience artists and survivors paired with reflective music throughout the day. The BBC Radio 3 Breakfast hosted by Petroc Trelawney will air live from Auschwitz, honoring all the musicians impacted by the Holocaust and launching a day of reflective music on the station. This includes a special Radio 3 In Concert edition showcasing a commemorative composition, Jonathan Dove’s 2020 work “In Exile” — dedicated to cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfish, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

On BBC Radio 4, Katya Adler will co-host the Today programme live from Auschwitz on Monday, 27 January, with the Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, as the Thought for the Day contributor. Additionally, “Crossing Continents” on Radio 4 will reveal the grim realities behind the death marches, while anatomist and forensic anthropologist Professor Sue Black examines how the actions of Nazi-supported anatomists continue to resonate today in “Shadow of War.” Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg will journey with his nephew, BBC journalist Daniel Wittenberg, to retrace the last steps of two family members who perished in Auschwitz during Sunday Worship.

For BBC News, Fiona Bruce will co-present the News at Six and Ten from the site. Jon Kay will also co-present from Auschwitz for BBC Breakfast and the News at One.

Lucy Hockings will be at the location for the BBC News Channel to monitor events throughout the day, including those within the UK and globally. The BBC News Channel will simultaneously broadcast the BBC One coverage of the Auschwitz ceremony from 2.30pm.

Newsround will air a special bulletin where viewers can join Emma-Louise Amanshia as she visits Auschwitz with a group of students to discover why they believe it’s crucial for young people to learn about the events that transpired there 80 years ago. BBC Teach will offer Holocaust Memorial Day assembly packs, and the website will also feature a short film in which presenter Emma-Louise Amanshia speaks with John Hajdu MBE about his experiences as a Holocaust survivor.

In preparation for Holocaust Memorial Day, BBC Four will feature “The U.S and the Holocaust,” “Shoah,” “Anne Frank: Remembered,” and “The Windermere Children” to honor this significant anniversary.

The World Service will provide various programs including “Documentary: Songs of Auschwitz,” which reveals the story of music and survival from Auschwitz (airing 23 January), “Heart and Soul: Kaddish: Why We Pray for the Dead,” a documentary marking the 80th anniversary of the Red Army’s liberation of Auschwitz (17th January), and “Assignment: Death Marches,” which uncovers the reality beneath the soil (airing 21 January).

Tim Davie, Director-General of the BBC, states: “The BBC is commemorating the 80th anniversary of this profoundly significant moment in our history with a range of commemorative events, impactful new documentaries, and educational materials across television, radio, and online platforms. The BBC plays an essential role in uniting people to remember the millions of lives lost during the Holocaust and ensuring that their stories are passed down to future generations.”

Olivia Marks-Woldman, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, comments: “We are immensely grateful for the BBC’s dedication to observing Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau with such considerate and extensive programming. Holocaust Memorial Day serves as a vital moment for us all to pause, contemplate, and honor the six million Jewish men, women, and children slaughtered by the Nazis and their accomplices, while also recognizing the victims of more contemporary genocides, including those in Bosnia 30 years ago. It is a day that has the capacity to move hearts and spark change. The variety of programming, including the national Ceremony, will unite the nation and empower individuals from all walks of life to glean invaluable lessons from history – lessons that remind us of our collective responsibility to foster a kinder, more just future.”

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Details on Holocaust Memorial Day programming

“What Happened At Auschwitz” (BBC One and iPlayer, 20 January at 8.30pm)

The Holocaust represents a moment in history that shocked the world, but as BBC journalist and acclaimed presenter Jordan Dunbar discovers, this narrative is regrettably becoming obscured by disinformation and cultural forgetfulness. This documentary commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau sees Jordan visit the camp in Poland and…

meets survivors who provide fresh interviews regarding the events that transpired at the location.

Jordan also uncovers how some of those who endured the camps established new existences here in the UK, with several being sent to the Lake District to recuperate from the traumas of their past. Additionally, Jordan discovers how descendants are assisting in the fight against online denial and misrepresentation concerning the actual magnitude of the Holocaust.

What Occurred At Auschwitz is a 1 x 30′ documentary for BBC One and iPlayer. The Producer/Director is Kate Scholefield, and the Executive Producer is Keir MacKenzie. It was commissioned by Joanna Carr, the Head of BBC Current Affairs, and the Commissioning Executive is Mark Harrison.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 (BBC One and iPlayer, 27 January at 7pm)

80 years following the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, survivors and dignitaries will participate in a distinctive commemoration to observe Holocaust Memorial Day, hosted by Reeta Chakrabarti. The Ceremony will honor the six million Jewish men, women, and children cruelly executed by the Nazis during the Holocaust, as well as other victims of Nazi oppression. It will also remember those who lost their lives in the genocide in Bosnia 30 years ago and in various other recent genocides. Through music, readings, and moving personal accounts, the victims of these horrific events will be honored. Among those participating in this occasion are cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, The Countess of Wessex’s String Orchestra, and Rob Rinder.

Holocaust Memorial Day is a 1 x 60’ production for BBC One and iPlayer, produced by BBC Studios Events. It was commissioned by Catherine Catton, Head of Commissioning Factual Entertainment and Events. The Creative Director is Claire Popplewell CVO, the Executive Producer is Elen Moore, the Series Producer is Catherine Stirk, and the Director is Nikki Parsons.

Last Musician of Auschwitz (BBC Two and iPlayer, 27 January at 9pm)

In an extraordinary and compelling documentary commemorating 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz on Holocaust Memorial Day 2025, The Last Musician of Auschwitz narrates the journey of cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who at 99 is the last remaining member of the Women’s Orchestra at Auschwitz.

Interspersed throughout the film are a sequence of new renditions of musical pieces filmed under the shadow of Auschwitz today, including Träumerei (Dreams) from Robert Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood, which the infamous camp doctor Josef Mengele requested Anita to perform for him – carried out by Anita’s son and cellist, Raphael Wallfisch – and the UK broadcast premiere of the rare composition Lullaby, created at the camp by a Polish political prisoner Adam Kopyciński – a handwritten manuscript of which remains today.

The film also revives the testimonies of other Auschwitz inmates who played and created music at the concentration and extermination camp, including Syzmon Laks, Ilse Weber, and Rosebery D’Arguto, to delve into what music signified in the most horrific location on earth, and emphasizes the Nazi persecution of Roma and Sinti individuals sent by the thousands to Auschwitz.

The Last Musician of Auschwitz is Executive Produced by Alan Clements for Two Rivers Media. Danny Cohen and Emily Blavatnik serve as Executive Producers for Access. It is developed by Paddy Duffy at Two Rivers, produced by Deborah Lee, and directed by Toby Trackman. Commissioned by Alistair Pegg and Suzy Klein for BBC Arts.

Radio 3

Radio 3 honors Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with contemplative music throughout the day. There will be special emphasis on the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s recent recording of Jonathan Dove’s In Exile – featuring a cello segment crafted for soloist Raphael Wallfisch, whose mother, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, is a survivor of the concentration camp. Throughout the day, audiences will hear from artists and refugees whose classical works and performances are deeply integrated into the canon, elevating the human spirit through the decades.

Radio 3 Breakfast from 6.30am to 9.30am

Petroc Trelawny reflects on all the musicians impacted by the atrocities of the Holocaust live from Auschwitz, presenting pieces that mirror their experiences, along with music from composers and performers who became refugees, and their descendants.

Composer of the Week: Voices of Terezín, Monday 27 to Friday 31 January, from 4.00pm to 5.00pm

Donald Macleod pays tribute to some of the composers of Jewish descent who were silenced by the horrors of the Second World War. On 27th January, he concentrates on Gideon Klein, who was imprisoned at Terezín at the age of 22. He was ultimately transported to Auschwitz, where he perished on 27th January 1945 shortly before the Soviet Red Army liberated the camp. His music manuscripts endured beyond him.

Radio 3 in Concert at 8.30pm

The BBC Symphony Orchestra presents works by Jewish composers whose lives were curtailed by the Nazis during the Holocaust, alongside compositions by Ernest Bloch—a composer who was exiled to the United States—and a commemorative piece composed in 2020 by Jonathan Dove, dedicated to cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, a surviving member of the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz.

The Essay: They’ll never believe it happened, Monday 27 to Friday 31 January from 9.45pm to 10.00pm

Author and broadcaster Michael Goldfarb examines how writers, filmmakers, and poets over the past decades have succeeded or struggled in the almost insurmountable challenge of understanding and commemorating what occurred at Auschwitz and in other locations during the horrifying three and a half years of the Shoah. Throughout the day, there will also be additional reflective musical moments on Essential Classics, Classical Live, and In Tune.

Radio 4

Shadow of War, 21 January at 8pm

Anatomist and forensic anthropologist Professor Sue Black explores how the actions of Nazi-backed anatomists continue to resonate today.

During World War II, anatomists across Germany capitalized on the increased number of corpses to advance their research. This included utilizing the bodies of five British Prisoners of War who perished in captivity. Without regard for consent or medical ethics, these researchers were permitted to utilize research material obtained from unethical sources for many years after the conclusion of the war.

Families are now coming to terms with the dreadful reality of what happened to their loved ones. Why did this occur? Why was no action taken about it? And why has it taken so long to be revealed?

A BBC Audio Scotland production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio 4, Crossing Continents, 21 January at 9pm

Death Marches: revealing the truth beneath the soil

80 years ago, Soviet forces liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi extermination camp. Over 1.1 million people, primarily Jews, were murdered there. However, there is a facet of those horrific times that is less familiar and which, 80 years later, is still being uncovered and still resonates: the death marches.

As Soviet forces advanced in January 1945, SS soldiers at Auschwitz-Birkenau compelled approximately 60,000 prisoners to march west in frigid conditions. Weak from starvation and illness, those who lagged behind were shot.

This narrative reveals how, eight decades later, the quest for the truth behind one of those death marches is being unveiled. For years, the history of a death march passing through the once-thriving German community of Schönwald was concealed. It is also the tale of how descendants of the original residents of Schönwald are confronted with the role some of their ancestors may have played in the Nazi agenda, and how today’s Polish residents of the town, now known as Bojkov, are wrestling with what took place on their streets.

Presented by Amie Leibowitz,

whose own great-grandmother was slain in Auschwitz-Birkenau, while her great-aunt was saved by the Soviet troops. She engages with individuals on both sides – German and Polish – who are revealing this narrative.

Sunday Worship, 26 January at 8.10am

Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg and his BBC reporter nephew Daniel track the last movements of two relatives who succumbed in Auschwitz as part of the Nazi ‘Final Solution’. The programme will feature segments of music performed by the camp orchestra, some of which has only recently been uncovered.

The Today Programme, 27 January at 6am

Katya Adler co-hosts live from Auschwitz, with the Thought for the Day Speaker being Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis.

BBC Teach

BBC Teach will present a brief film online where presenter Emma-Louise Amanshia encounters John Hajdu MBE to discuss his survival experiences during the Holocaust. In the film, John contemplates his childhood in Hungary, including the separation from his mother who was deported to a concentration camp, and the remarkable bravery of his aunt who concealed him in a cupboard to save his life. John’s extraordinary tale takes another turn when he is finally reunited with his mother post-war.

Alongside the short film, BBC Teach has released assembly packages accessible to secondary schools, to assist educators and students in their studies in honor of this significant anniversary.

Newsround special bulletin follows a school excursion to Auschwitz

Newsround will air a special bulletin on Holocaust Memorial Day morning to clarify the history and importance of this day to children.

Presenter Emma-Louise Amanshia journeyed to Auschwitz with a cohort of students to discover why they believe it’s crucial for young individuals like them to learn about the events that took place there 80 years ago. The bulletin will also present a brief animation regarding the Holocaust’s history, narrated by Anthony Horowitz, which includes segments from an award-winning Newsround Special, where Holocaust survivor, Stephen Frank, leads his granddaughter throughout Europe to Auschwitz, retracing their family’s history during the war. This video content will be complemented by an online resource on the Newsround website, offering further insights into the Holocaust, including survivors’ narratives and information about this historical era. The Newsround bulletin will be available to view on the Newsround website and on BBC iPlayer.

Simon Schama: The Holocaust – 80 Years On (BBC Two and iPlayer airing in 2025)

In the year commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the last concentration camps, esteemed historian Sir Simon Schama examines the Holocaust’s history as more than a Nazi fixation but as a crime affecting Europe as a whole. In the most personal and candid film of his career, Simon visits mass extermination sites in Lithuania, the homeland of his mother’s family. He journeys to the Netherlands, a country known for its long-standing tradition of tolerance and where he worked as a young historian, to explore why fewer Jews survived here compared to any other Western occupied nation. And although he has devoted a lifetime to chronicling Jewish history, this film also captures the emotional impact of Simon’s initial visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Amidst all this horror, at every turn Simon leans into extraordinary acts of resistance, the determination of ordinary Jews to document the unprecedented atrocities they endured, hoping to ensure they would never be overlooked. Featuring an exceptional interview with 98-year-old survivor Marian Turski, alongside voices of younger generations committed to making certain the Holocaust is not forgotten, the film also raises significant questions about what the Holocaust signifies today.

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