St Albans Mayor hosts Holocaust Memorial Day service
St Albans Mayor Councillor Jamie Day hosted an annual service to commemorate victims of the Holocaust and other genocides.
The civic event took place on Sunday 26 January at St Albans Masorti Synagogue on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day
It was an occasion to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, the millions of other persecuted people killed by the Nazis and later genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and elsewhere.
Local rabbis participated in the programme which featured moving stories about Holocaust survivors, including from Auschwitz survivor Kitty Hart-Moxon.
The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, Annie Brewster, and St Albans MP, Daisy Cooper, both read eyewitness testimonies while the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Robert Voss, made a moving address.
Two Year 13 pupils from Roundwood Park School in Harpenden talked about what they have learned from studying the Holocaust, and from participating in the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz programme.
There was music including a violin solo and a string quartet along with a performance of a song written by Viktor Ullmann.
Towards the end of the service, a candle was lit by the Lord Lieutenant in memory of those who perished in the Holocaust and other genocides, followed by a minute’s silence.
Holocaust Memorial Day falls every year on 27 January, the date of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. This year marked the 80th anniversary of the event in 1945.
The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is the importance of remembering and learning from the Holocaust and more recent genocides For A Better Future.
Cllr Day, Mayor of St Albans City and District, said:
Our commemoration service was one of many thousands held around the world.
It was a very moving and emotional experience and I thank everyone who took part in this important occasion.
It was great to see our community stand together and honour the millions of people who lost their lives, showing their opposition to prejudice and hatred.
You can find information about Holocaust Memorial Day at https://hmd.org.uk/.
Photo: top, guests at the Holocaust Memorial Day Service; bottom, the Mayor, far left talks to Kitty Hart-Moxon, OBE, centre in wheelchair.
Media Contact: John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer, 01727 819533, john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk.
