Communities remember millions killed in Holocaust

Attendees of special events marking Holocaust Memorial Day have spoken of the importance of remembering those that died.

The memorial day takes place on 27 January each year and remembers the millions of people, mostly Jews, who were murdered during World War Two.

Events have taken place across Suffolk to honour these people, including a service at Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds.

The Reverend Canon Matthew Vernon, of St Edmundsbury Cathedral in the Suffolk town, said it was important to "challenge prejudice and prevent genocide".

"The Holocaust was such a history-changing event," he told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"That is why we gather each year to remember and to honour those who were killed - the millions of people who were killed in appalling conditions - and to recommit ourselves to saying 'never again'.

"Silence is not an option, we must remember and do our bit to challenge prejudice and prevent genocide."

The event in Bury St Edmunds included readings, poems and music. Local leaders as well as schools were invited to attend.

Ben Cohen, a member of the United States Air Force based at RAF Lakenheath, also attended the Bury St Edmunds event.

Mr Cohen, who is Jewish, recently visited the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp and said it had meant the memorial day hit him "more deeply in the heart".

"It is more intense and emotional because I've seen it first hand," he said.

"I feel honoured that I was able to have the opportunity to come out here and remember with the Jewish community here and others in Bury St Edmunds.

"It's not every day that you get a chance to do something like this in a foreign country and be able to express and remember."

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Other memorial events took place elsewhere in the county, including in Lowestoft.

Wreaths were laid at Lowestoft Railway Station, which has a connection with the Kindertransport - a British scheme that rescued nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi-occupied territories.

Five hundred of these children came to Lowestoft, and an exhibition called A Thousand Kisses is now in place at the station telling their story.

Local schools were invited to the memorial day, which Mayor of Lowestoft Nasima Begum said was vital for the future.

"I think it's really important for young people to learn because history is a reminder of what happens and to make sure it doesn't happen again," she said.

"It's really important to keep children informed and so that they know and can take it on for future generations to remember."

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