Havant commemorates Holocaust Memorial Day.

Next Friday 27th January, The Mayor of Havant will be joining schoolchildren and members of the local community to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.

A servoce will be taking place at Havant Cemetery, Eastern Road, Havant at 11.00am. Gerald Shimbart, a Havant Borough Councillor will be leading the service along with readings from the Mayor of Havant and Councillor Leah Turner, a member of the local Jewish community. Students from Warblinton school will be saying a few words too.

The memorial day event marks the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The theme of this year's service is 'Speak Up Speak Out', which challenges everyone to share the lessons of the past and the present and to use our voices to create a safer and better future.

Councillor Turner will speak about Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz a German naval maritime attaché whom is estimated to have saved over 6000 Jews in an organised mass escape to Sweden.

The Mayor of Havant, Councillor Ken Smith says: "The stories of Holocaust survivors help us to remember and learn from the experiences of everyone touched by the most tragic of events in the 20th Century. It's especially important for children to understand the lessons learnt from the past and I'm pleased that a number of local schools are involved in the service being held in Havant."

The world is marking Holocaust Memorial Day, held each year on the anniversary of the day Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi extermination camp, was liberated in 1945.

Please visit www.hmd.org.uk/ for more information, and to light a virtual candle.

Photo Thanks to clementchene on Flickr