The BBC is set to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January 2025 and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau with a wide range of programming across TV, Radio and Online, as well as full coverage of the Auschwitz Ceremony from Poland and commemorative events across the UK.
There will be coverage across BBC News and the BBC News channel throughout the day – following the main events and providing insight, context and sharing human stories.
Fiona Bruce will be live from Auschwitz for a special programme on BBC One from 2.30pm, covering the commemoration ceremony at the camp. Fiona will hear from a Holocaust survivor and speak to guests about the history and contemporary relevance of Auschwitz.
In the evening on BBC One and iPlayer from 7pm, survivors and VIPs will attend a unique commemoration to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, hosted by Reeta Chakrabarti to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children brutally murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust and other victims of Nazi persecution. The ceremony will also commemorate those who were murdered in the genocide in Bosnia 30 years ago and in other more recent genocides. Through music, readings and powerful personal testimony, the victims of these appalling events will be remembered. Among those taking part in this event are cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, The Countess of Wessex’s String Orchestra and Rob Rinder.
Three new TV documentaries will explore the lasting impact of the Holocaust:
In What Happened at Auschwitz on BBC One and iPlayer (20 January at 8.30pm), BBC journalist and award winning presenter Jordan Dunbar discovers that this shocking moment in history is sadly a story that is nowadays being diluted through disinformation and cultural amnesia. Jordan visits the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in Poland and meets survivors who give new interviews about what happened at the site.
On BBC Two and iPlayer, an extraordinary new feature documentary, The Last Musician of Auschwitz (27 January at 9pm), tells the story of Anita Lasker-Wallfisch who, at 99, is the only surviving member of the Women’s Orchestra at Auschwitz. The film features powerful first-person testimony from Anita alongside musical performances around the site of Auschwitz, including the UK broadcast premiere of Lullaby – composed at the camp by the Polish political prisoner Adam Kopyciński.
In an additional commission to be broadcast later in the year, renowned historian Sir Simon Schama confronts the history of the Holocaust, in the most personal and unflinching film of his career, Simon Schama: The Holocaust - 80 Years On. Despite a lifetime dedicated to documenting Jewish history, this film follows Simon's first ever visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
On BBC Radio 3, listeners will hear artists and survivors with reflective music throughout the day. BBC Radio 3 Breakfast with Petroc Trelawny will be broadcast live from Auschwitz, remembering all the musicians affected by the Holocaust and kick-starting a commemorative day of reflective music on the station. This includes a special Radio 3 In Concert edition featuring a commemorative composition, Jonathan Dove’s 2020 work In Exile - dedicated to cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfish, by the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
On BBC Radio 4, Katya Adler will co-present the Today programme live from Auschwitz on Monday 27 January and the Thought for the Day speaker will be the Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis. Elsewhere on Radio 4, Crossing Continents uncovers the horrible truth behind the death marches, and anatomist and forensic anthropologist Professor Sue Black investigates how the actions of Nazi-sponsored anatomists continue to be felt today in Shadow of War. Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg will travel with his nephew, BBC journalist Daniel Wittenberg, to retrace the final steps of two members of his family who perished in Auschwitz as part of Sunday Worship.
For BBC News, Fiona Bruce will be co-presenting the News at Six and Ten on location. Jon Kay will be co-presenting from Auschwitz for BBC Breakfast and the News at One.
Lucy Hockings will also be on location for the BBC News Channel to follow events throughout the day, as well as those in the UK and around the world. The BBC News Channel will also simulcast the BBC One coverage of the Auschwitz ceremony from 2.30pm.
Newsround will be broadcasting a special bulletin, where viewers can follow Emma-Louise Amanshia as she travels to Auschwitz along with a group of students to find out why they feel it’s so important that young people learn what happened there 80 years ago. BBC Teach will make available Holocaust Memorial Day assembly packs and the website will also host a short film in which presenter Emma-Louise Amanshia meets John Hajdu MBE to hear about his experience of surviving the Holocaust.
In the lead up to Holocaust Memorial Day, BBC Four will be showing The U.S and the Holocaust, Shoah, and The Windermere Children to mark this very special anniversary.
The World Service has a range of programming including Documentary: Songs of Auschwitz which uncovers 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: uncovering the truth beneath the soil (airing 21 January).
Tim Davie, Director-General for the BBC, says: “The BBC is marking the 80th anniversary of this hugely significant moment in our history with commemorative events, powerful new documentaries and educational resources across tv, radio and online. The BBC has an important role to play in bringing people together to remember the millions of lives lost during the Holocaust as well as ensuring their stories are shared with future generations.”
Olivia Marks-Woldman, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, says: “We deeply appreciate the BBC’s commitment to marking Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau with such thoughtful and wide-ranging programming. Holocaust Memorial Day is a moment for us all to pause, reflect, and remember the six million Jewish men, women, and children murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, while also honouring the victims of more recent genocides including in Bosnia 30 years ago. It’s a day with the power to touch hearts and inspire change. The range of programming, including the national Ceremony, will bring the nation together and enable people of all backgrounds to learn invaluable lessons from the past - lessons that remind us of our shared responsibility to build a kinder, better future.”
CT2/MF3
Holocaust Memorial Day programme information
What Happened At Auschwitz (BBC One and iPlayer, 20 January at 8.30pm)
The Holocaust is a moment in history that shocked the world, but as BBC journalist and award-winning presenter Jordan Dunbar discovers, it is sadly a story that is nowadays being diluted through disinformation and cultural amnesia. In a documentary marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Jordan visits the camp in Poland and meets survivors who give new interviews about what happened at the site.
Jordan also discovers how some of those that survived the camps built new lives here in the UK, with some sent to the Lake District to recover from the horrors of their past. Plus, Jordan learns how descendants are helping to combat online denial and distortion about the true scale of the Holocaust.
What Happened 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, 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 after the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, survivors and VIPs will attend a unique commemoration to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, hosted by Reeta Chakrabarti. The Ceremony will commemorate the six million Jewish men, women and children, brutally murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust and other victims of Nazi persecution. It will also commemorate those who were murdered in the genocide in Bosnia 30 years ago and in other more recent genocides. Through music, readings and powerful personal testimony, the victims of these appalling events will be remembered. Among those taking part in this event are cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, The Countess of Wessex’s String Orchestra and Rob Rinder.
Holocaust Memorial Day is a 1 x 60’ 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 powerful documentary marking 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz on Holocaust Memorial Day 2025, The Last Musician of Auschwitz tells the story of cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who at 99 is the only surviving member of the Women’s Orchestra at Auschwitz.
Woven through the film are a series of new performances of musical works filmed in the shadow of Auschwitz today, including Träumerei (Dreams) from Robert Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood, which the notorious camp doctor Josef Mengele asked Anita to play for him – performed by Anita’s son and cellist, Raphael Wallfisch – and the UK broadcast premiere of the rare piece Lullaby, composed at the camp by a Polish political prisoner Adam Kopyciński – a handwritten manuscript of which still survives today.
The film also brings to life the testimonies of other Auschwitz inmates who played and composed music at the concentration and extermination camp including Syzmon Laks, Ilse Weber and Rosebery D’Arguto, to explore what music meant in the worst place on earth, and highlights the Nazi persecution of Roma and Sinti people who were sent in their thousands to Auschwitz.
The Last Musician of Auschwitz is Executive Produced by Alan Clements for Two Rivers Media. Danny Cohen and Emily Blavatnik are the 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 marks Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with reflective music throughout the day. With special focus on the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s new recording of Jonathan Dove’s In Exile – which features a cello part created for soloist Raphael Wallfisch, whose mother, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, is a concentration camp survivor. Throughout the day, listeners hear from artists and refugees whose classical compositions and performances are firmly part of the canon, lifting the human spirit through the decades.
Radio 3 Breakfast at 6.30am to 9.30am
Petroc Trelawny remembers all the musicians who were affected by the horrors of the Holocaust live from Auschwitz and introduces pieces which reflect their experience, alongside 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 commemorates some of the composers of Jewish heritage who were silenced by the atrocities of the Second World War. On 27th January, he focusses on Gideon Klein, who was incarcerated at Terezín aged 22. He was eventually transported to Auschwitz where he died on 27th January 1945 shortly before the Soviet Red Army liberated the camp. His music manuscripts survived him.
Radio 3 in Concert at 8.30pm
The BBC Symphony Orchestra performs works by Jewish composers whose lives were ended by the Nazis in the Holocaust, alongside music by Ernest Bloch- a composer exiled to the United States, and a commemorative composition written in 2020 by Jonathan Dove, dedicated to cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfish, 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 looks at how writers, filmmakers, and poets have over the past decades succeeded or failed in the almost impossible task of understanding and memorializing what happened at Auschwitz and in other places in the terrible three and a half years of the Shoah. During the day there will also be other 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 investigates how the actions of Nazi-sponsored anatomists continue to be felt today.
During World War Two, anatomists across Germany exploited the increased number of corpses to further their research. That included using the bodies of five British Prisoners of War who died in captivity. With no consideration for consent or medical ethics, these researchers were allowed to continue to use research material gained from unethical sources for decades after the end of the war.
Families are now grappling with learning the terrible truth about what happened to their relatives. Why did this happen? Why was nothing done about it? And why has it taken so long to come to light?
A BBC Audio Scotland production for BBC Radio 4.
Radio 4, Crossing Continents, 21 January at 9pm
Death Marches: uncovering the truth beneath the soil
80 years ago Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi extermination camp. Over 1.1 million people, mainly Jews, were murdered there. However, there is an aspect of those terrible days which is less well known and which 80 years later is still being uncovered and still resonating: the death marches.
As Soviet troops approached, in January 1945, SS soldiers at Auschwitz-Birkenau forced some 60,000 prisoners to march west, in freezing temperatures. Weak with hunger and disease, those who fell behind were shot.
This is the story of how eight decades on the search for the truth behind one of those death marches is being uncovered. For years the history of a death march passing through the once proud German community of Schönwald was hidden. It is also the story of how descendants of the original inhabitants of Schönwald are having to confront the role some of their relatives may have played in the Nazi project, and how today’s Polish inhabitants of the town, which is now called Bojkov, are grappling with what happened on their streets.
Presented by Amie Leibowitz, whose own great-grandmother was murdered Auschwitz-Birkenau, while her great-aunt was rescued by the Soviet forces. She speaks to those on both sides – German and Polish – who are uncovering this history.
Sunday Worship, 26 January at 8.10am
Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg and his BBC journalist nephew Daniel retrace the final steps of two members of their family who perished in Auschwitz as part of the Nazi 'Final Solution'. The programme will include extracts of music played by the camp orchestra, some of which has only recently come to light.
The Today Programme, 27 January at 6am
Katya Adler co-presents live from Auschwitz and the Thought for the Day Speaker is Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis.
BBC Teach
BBC Teach will host a short film online where presenter Emma-Louise Amanshia meets John Hajdu MBE to hear about his experiences of surviving the Holocaust. During the film, John reflects on his experiences as a child in Hungary, including the separation from his mother who was sent to a concentration camp, and the incredible bravery of his aunt who hid him in a cupboard to save his life. John’s remarkable story takes another turn when he is eventually reunited with his mother after the war.
In addition to the short film, BBC Teach has published assembly packs, open to secondary schools, to support teaching staff and students in their learning to mark this special anniversary.
Newsround special bulletin follows a school party visit to Auschwitz
Newsround will be broadcasting a special bulletin on the morning of Holocaust Memorial Day to explain the history and the significance of this important day to children.
Presenter Emma-Louise Amanshia travelled to Auschwitz with a group of students to find out why they feel it’s so important that young people like them learn about what happened there 80 years ago. The bulletin will also show a short animation explaining the history of the Holocaust, narrated by Anthony Horowitz, including extracts from an award-winning Newsround Special, where Holocaust survivor, Stephen Frank, takes his grand-daughter across Europe to Auschwitz, to retrace their family’s history during the war. This video content will be complimented by an online guide on the Newsround website, which explains more about the Holocaust and includes survivors’ stories and information about this period of history. The Newsround bulletin will be available to watch 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 marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the last concentration camps, renowned historian Sir Simon Schama confronts the history of the Holocaust as not just a Nazi obsession, but as a European-wide crime. In the most personal and unflinching film of his career, Simon visits mass killing sites in Lithuania, the home of his mother’s family. He travels to the Netherlands, a nation famed for its long history of tolerance and where he lived and worked as a young historian, to answer the question of why fewer Jews survived here than in any other Western occupied country. And despite a lifetime dedicated to documenting Jewish history, this film also captures the emotional toll of Simon's first ever visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Within all this terror, at every step Simon leans into remarkable acts of resistance, the compulsion of ordinary Jews to document the unprecedented atrocities that were happening to them, in the hope they could never be denied. Featuring an extraordinary interview with 98-year-old survivor Marian Turski, as well as the voices of younger generations determined to ensure the Holocaust is never forgotten, the film also asks profound questions about what the Holocaust means now.
Simon Schama: The Holocaust - 80 Years On is a 1x60’ documentary made by Oxford Films for BBC Two and iPlayer in association with The WNET Group. It was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual. The Executive Producer for Oxford Films is Nicolas Kent and the BBC Commissioning Editor is Simon Young, Head of History, Factual Commissioning. The executive in charge for The WNET Group is Stephen Segaller. It is directed by Hugo Macgregor and produced by Jyoti Mehta. Global sales will be handled by BBC Studios.