Holocaust Memorial Day Service In Hounslow
Hounslow Mayor and dignatories attend commemoration
Hounslow Council has held a service to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
Holocaust Memorial Day takes place every year on 27 January, marking the same date in 1945 that the Auschwitz concentration camp in modern-day Poland was liberated by the Soviets, nearly eight months before the World War Two officially ended.
Pic caption: Remembering: Councillor Nisar Malik, Mayor of Hounslow lights a candle to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
Led by Councillor Nisar Malik, Mayor of Hounslow, the service which took place at the Civic Centre saw a commemoration of lives lost and those affected by the horrors of the Holocaust.
Among the specially invited guests was Hannah Lewis, a Holocaust survivor, who spoke of the experience she and her family had to go through during World War II.
At a young age, Hannah and her family were forcibly rounded up and marched to a labour camp in the village of Adampol, Poland.
Now living in London, Hannah shares her experience by going into schools and universities across the country, telling her story, so that young people can learn about what happened and why Holocaust Memorial Day is marked each year.
The service saw candles being lit in commemoration, followed by prayers and a period of silence.
Also at the service was Councillor Amrit Mann, Deputy Leader of Hounslow Council, the borough’s Deputy Lieutenant Maria Pedro, Myra Savin, Deputy Mayor of Hounslow, Reverend Stuart Wright, from Holy Trinity Church, Hounslow and Raj Kohli, Metropolitan Police Borough Commander.
There was also representation from the London Fire Brigade with Borough Commander Greg Ashman and local community leader Basil Mann, also joining in the service honouring those whose lives have been forever changed by the Holocaust.
Youngsters from Heathland School, Hounslow were also part of the commemorations.
In the five years that Auschwitz was open, an estimated 1.1 million people were killed at the concentration camp, around 90 per cent of whom were Jewish. Approximately six million Jews and five million non-Jewish people were killed in the Holocaust.
Cllr Malik, Mayor of Hounslow, said: “Hounslow Council is proud to host this event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. It’s a day when we can all take time to remember what happened to millions of people and make sure this crime against humanity doesn’t happen ever again.
“We welcomed many guests and in particular I would like to thank Hannah Lewis, a Holocaust survivor herself, who was invited to share our service.
“She spoke so vividly and personally about her experience and we can only be humbled by this and also inspired by the strength she and her family showed through what we can only imagine was a nightmare for them.
“It is hugely important for us to remember and honour all those that have been affected by anti-Semitism and all other forms of discrimination and our special ceremony gave us the chance to reflect and remember.”
Holocaust Memorial Day has been widened to also remember the millions of other victims in subsequent genocides in other areas such as Cambodia, Rwanda and Bosnia.
January 27, 2016
