Newbury marks Holocaust Memorial Day and 80th anniversary of Auschwitz-Birkenau liberation at West Berkshire Council offices
Newbury residents marked Holocaust Memorial Day at a private ceremony at the West Berkshire Council offices.
About 60 dignitaries, schools and members of the public gathered on Monday to commemorate the anniversary, which is particularly significant this year as it marks 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp where more than one million people perished.
An opening address was made by the WBC chairman Billy Drummond.
“We learn the lessons of the past and stand up to hatred, bigotry and racism wherever we find it today,” he said.
Mr Drummond also acknowledged and paid tribute to the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and 30 years since the genocide in Bosnia.
Mayor of Newbury Andy Moore then spoke about the theme of this year’s commemoration: ‘For a Better Future.’
“We are thankful we are here today in a predominantly peaceful society,” he said.
“We stand together from many cultures, faiths and backgrounds to conduct this memorial.
“We honour their memory and recognise the profound impact that had, not least in the present day Middle East.
“We should remember, we should be thankful and we should commit to the future.”
Mr Moore’s speech was followed by poems read by St Nicolas School pupils.
A candle lighting ceremony and memorial prayer was also led by minister for Newbury Baptist Church, Peter Timothy.
“A candle flame is a delicate thing,” said Mr Timothy.
“It flickers and brings light, but can easily be extinguished. And the same is true of hope.
“It’s a fragile thing, which if we’re not careful, can easily be extinguished.”
The service ended with the St Nicolas School Choir singing the hymn Shalom and a round of applause.
The Nazis murdered more than six million Jews.
Hitler’s regime also enslaved and exterminated millions of gypsies, people with disabilities, homosexuals, Catholics, Central and Eastern Europeans and scores of other ‘undesirables’.
