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Communities Minister Gordon Lyons recently visited the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) as part of the Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 programme. Holocaust Memorial Day is on Monday 27 January 2025.
The event, which was organised by PRONI and the Northern Ireland War Memorial (NIWM), looked at the journey of the late Walter Sekules, a Holocaust survivor from Austria whose family moved to Kilkeel shortly after the war.
Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons said: “The story of the Sekules family is one of immense hope after unimaginable adversity. The Sekules family thrived in Northern Ireland, establishing a successful business and calling Kilkeel their home for decades.
“This year’s theme of Holocaust Memorial Day is 'For A Better Future' and to achieve that, we must learn from the past. This year is the 80th anniversary of the end of Second World War and the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a poignant reminder of the millions who lost their lives during the conflict.
The Minister added that we all have a responsibility for ensuring that the crimes of genocide and persecution will never be repeated. "We want to embrace a future where people do not suffer prejudice or persecution because of their faith, their ethnicity, the colour of their skin or their community background.” he said.
At the Public Records Office event Author Csilla Toldy shared the story of her illustrated children’s book, Enemy Alien – Walter’s Journey Through Adversity. Esther Bloch, Walter’s sister joined Csilla for the talk, taking the audience through their family life from the Soviet detention camp in Kazakhstan to Kilkeel.
