HOLOCAUST Memorial Day commemorations are due to take place in Redditch on Saturday, January 30.

The event is held every year in the town and forms part of the national Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations.

This year’s commemoration will involve music, readings and other contributions from representatives from local community and voluntary groups and schools.

A procession will leave the town hall at 11.15am and make its way along Alcester Street to Worcester Square in the Kingfisher Centre where the commemorative event will be held.

The theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations is Legacy of Hope and also marks the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. During the ceremony participants will state their commitment to remembering the Holocaust. Holocaust Memorial steering group chair, Councillor Jinny Pearce, said: "It is very important that the Holocaust Memorial Day is observed each year.

Children and young people especially need to be made aware of these atrocities and the fact that they continue to take place.

“It is important that young people learn from this event so that future generations never forget the crimes against humanity which were committed during the Holocaust.”

The Holocaust claimed approximately 11 million victims. Under the Nazis’ systematic, state-sponsored persecution, approximately six million Jewish people were murdered. Other races and groups were also persecuted, tortured and executed.

Holocaust Memorial Day has been designated an annual day of remembrance. It is intended to ensure that the crimes against humanity committed during the Holocaust and other instances of genocide are never forgotten and that their relevance for each new generation is understood.

The aim of the Holocaust Memorial event is to remember and also educate people about the dangers of anti-Semitism, racism and all forms of discrimination.

redditchadvertiser.co.uk