Marking Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 at the Surrey History Centre

Published on: 15 Jan, 2025
Updated on: 14 Jan, 2025

Surrey’s History Centre in Woking is marking Holocaust Memorial Day in January 2025 with a brand new, month-long exhibition and an online, live event telling the stories of 13 British Born victims of Aktion T4.

Aktion T4 was the Nazi extermination programme responsible for the deaths of approximately 70,000 adults with mental and physical disabilities.

The live, online event is on the 29 January 2025, at 5:30pm and tickets can be booked via the History Centre’s website. It will feature presentations from Dr Helen Atherton (University of Leeds) and Dr Simon Jarrett (Open University) the curators of the exhibition.

Photo of Ivy Angerer, who the exhibition is named after

Both speakers will discuss the T4 programme and the meticulous research that has unearthed these 13 life stories and painstakingly reconstructed the lives of these people.

Surrey History Centre was able to contribute directly to the research of this work as one victim, Anna Elsie Panitza (1897-1940) had lived in Surrey. Staff at Surrey History Centre discovered that she was admitted to Surrey County Council’s County mental health hospitals at Brookwood and Netherne.

Her medical case notes, now preserved at Surrey History Centre, have filled important gaps in her story and she is a key part of the powerful, international exhibition that will be hosted at Surrey History Centre in January 2025 to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

The Centre, just 15 minutes’ walk from Woking station and fully accessible, helps people from all over the world research Surrey’s history, people and places year-round. The extensive archives allow residents to research their own undiscovered family history, with assistance from knowledgeable, dedicated on-site staff.

SCC Cllr Denise Turner-Stewart, deputy leader and Cabinet member for Communities said, “Yet again Surrey History Centre has played a key role in helping piece together an important story; in this case the life of a disabled Surrey resident who features in this significant research.

Cllr Denise Turner-Stewart

“We are privileged to have this facility, and I encourage everyone to visit. There is a full programme of fascinating events for all ages to experience.

“The History Centre provides access for anyone who wishes to research Surrey and its people. The staff are welcoming and knowledgeable and understand how the links with our past help shape who we all are today. I’ll certainly be going to see this particular exhibition and I hope many of our Surrey residents can do the same.”

The talk will take place on Zoom and the exhibition is open during the normal opening hours of the Surrey History Centre from 2 – 30 January 2025.