Commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January
Local residents are invited to remember the victims of the Holocaust at a commemoration service taking place on Saturday 27 January.
The service is held each year in St Albans District to coincide with national Holocaust Memorial Day. Supported by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Holocaust Memorial Day aims to mark the holocaust and subsequent genocides.
The commemoration service is due to be hosted by the Mayor of the City and District of St Albans and will feature moving stories about Holocaust survivors.
Kim Stern will talk about how child survivors of the Nazi concentration camps were taken in by the British Government after World War Two. The 732 child refugees, who were known as ‘The Boys’, but also included girls, went on to build new lives around the world. They set up the ’45 Aid Society to raise money for charitable organisations, support fellow survivors and contribute to society. Memory Quilts were recently created by The Boys’ families to commemorate the 70th anniversary of their 1945 liberation and to keep their story alive.
Film producer Sophie Shad will also talk about her motivation for creating a short film about the first night that local Holocaust survivor, Kitty Hart-Moxon, spent in Auschwitz. Kitty’s Fortune was nominated for the BAFTA qualifying London Short Film Festival and the UK Jewish Film Festival.
During the service, there will be addresses from local Rabbis and candles will be lit in memory of those who perished in the Holocaust.
The Mayor of the City and District of St Albans, Councillor Mohammad Iqbal Zia says: “Holocaust Memorial Day is a time to remember the victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution as well as subsequent genocides around the world. Millions of people have lost their lives a result of these atrocities or been forced to flee their homes. Join us to reflect on the past and to highlight the importance of tolerance and respect in our society.”
Anyone wishing to attend the service, will need to register their interest by emailing mayoralty@stalbans.gov.uk or calling 01727 819544 (24 hour answerphone) by Monday 22 January.
Everyone attending the service is asked to bring a button for the B’s Buttons project. This is being run by students at the Lakes School in Windermere who are collecting 1.5 million buttons, one for each of the children killed in the Holocaust.
Following the service there will be an opportunity to looks at a display honouring the diverse heritage of members of the Jewish Community. As part of the project, a professional biographer interviewed 12 people and recorded their stories for future generations. Kitty Hart-Moxon OBE is included among them.
The Right Worshipful the Mayor of the City and District of St Albans, Councillor Mohammad Iqbal Zia
Contact for the Mayor’s office:
Alison Orde, the Mayor’s Civic Officer
Tel: 01727 819544, Email: mayoralty@stalbans.gov.uk
Contact for the media:
Amanda Wilkinson, Senior Communications Officer, St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819317, E-mail: amanda.wilkinson@stalbans.gov.uk
Notes:
Holocaust Memorial Day is held each year to remember the victims of the Holocaust, the Nazi persecution and subsequent genocides around the world. It takes place on 27 January, marking the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest German Nazi concentration camp. The theme this year is ‘The Power of Words’ and how they can have an impact that is good or bad.