Late January and February in any year can prove challenging for many of us: festivities have come to an end, but the cost of those celebrations continue to drain our bank accounts. The early promise of a new year can also begin to fade into a disappointing familiar reality. This is indeed a time of the year when we can feel particularly deflated – all very normal dare I say but not pleasant to experience.
2024, for some, comes with additional concerns regarding family, colleagues and friends affected by the worrying conflicts in the Middle East. These aren’t the easiest of times. If the earlier part of this year is taking a significant toll, please contact me at Buildforce, I’ll be more than happy to offer guidance on self-care and/or sources of additional support.
For me personally, mid to late January is a period of particular reflection relating to Holocaust Memorial Day. My Mum and Dad’s family members number amongst the 10 million people murdered in the Nazi death camps.
Before the war my Father had a mum, three brothers, two sisters and an extended family of about twenty in Poland. As the war ended he had only one sister and an aunt. The others had been murdered in Treblinka and Belzec. One of his brothers was born with Down’s syndrome and numbered amongst the 300,000 plus disabled people murdered for being ‘useless eaters’. My Father escaped to England on the Kindertransport when he was thirteen in 1939 and joined the Royal Navy in 1943.
My Mum, from Germany, lost her mother, a sister and brother. They were murdered in the camps at Dachau, Sorbibor and Auschwitz.
This is not an easy family history to share but a necessary one to offer me a platform to express my eternal gratitude to the service men and women who saved my family, often at great cost to themselves and their loved ones. May your God bless you.