Holocaust victims remembered at county memorials
The atrocities of the Nazi Holocaust were remembered during memorial events in the city and county.
A service was held in Queen's Park, Loughborough, yesterday lunchtime to mark Holocaust Memorial Day – held each year to coincide with the day Auschwitz was liberated in 1945.
Councillor Diane Wise, mayor of Charnwood, led the town's 13th Holocaust Memorial Service at the bandstand, commemorating Jewish lives lost during the Second World War.
"As Mayor of Charnwood, I was honoured to be invited to lead this memorial service," she said. "Although Auschwitz camp was liberated nearly 70 years ago, the effects of what occurred are still felt by many.
"I am proud Loughborough continues to host this service, a poignant reminder of the human costs of war."
The day was also marked by an exhibition in Charnwood Museum, which will run until Sunday. Victims were also due to be remembered at an event at the University of Leicester last night. Communities Together: Build a Bridge was due to be held at the Fraser Noble Hall, on University Road, and was to include displays of work by schoolchildren, on tackling hatred.
Organised by Leicester City Council, Leicester Council of Faiths, the School Development Support Agency and the university's Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust Studies, the evening's programme included presentations by young people who spoke about visiting Auschwitz.
Assistant city mayor Councillor Manjula Sood said: "It is inspiring to see the creativity of young people and the importance of tackling all kinds of discrimination."
This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:
City in tribute to genocide victims
The atrocities of the Holocaust will be remembered at an event in Leicester this weekend.
Holocaust Memorial Day on Sunday will be marked with an event at the University of Leicester, which will pay tribute to victims of genocide and showcase work by schoolchildren on tackling hatred.
Entitled Communities Together: Build a Bridge, it takes place at the Fraser Noble Hall, in University Road, at 7.30pm.
It will include an address by Professor Aubrey Newman, former director of the university's Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and will highlight the Auschwitz Project with a number of young people giving their thoughts on either having visited Auschwitz or preparing to go.
There will be readings from the winners of an essay competition and from an anthology of poems written by pupils from five city schools.
Musicians from English Martyrs Catholic School will perform during the event.
It has been organised by the city council, Leicester Council of Faiths, the School Development Support Agency and the Stanley Burton Centre.
MP pledges to combat intolerance
An MP has pledged his commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and to help combat prejudice and racism.
Sunday marks the 68th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
In the weeks leading up to it, the Holocaust Educational Trust has placed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons.
Jon Ashworth, Labour MP for Leicester South, who has signed the book, said: "Holocaust Memorial Day is an important opportunity to remember the victims of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides.
"Having visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, I saw for myself the full extent of the industrialised nature of the Holocaust.
"I encourage all constituents to mark the day and to join the fight against prejudice and intolerance."
