Service to mark Holocaust Memorial Day in Liverpool.....

A Holocaust memorial service will be held in Liverpool city centre today.

Liverpool’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Erica Kemp, will join faith leaders to mark Holocaust Memorial Day as they lay wreaths at the memorial stone in St John’s Gardens in memory of all victims of persecution before a special service at Liverpool Town Hall.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Berkenau and also the 20th anniversary of the Genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia.

Cllr Kemp said: “Holocaust Memorial Day gives us the opportunity to remember the millions of people killed in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides in Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

“We must also acknowledge that persecution, discrimination, racism and hatred still take place in society today and that it is our responsibility to educate younger generations in order to help build a safer, more understanding future.

“I hope that everyone involved in the service takes the opportunity for some quiet reflection and to remember and honour those who survived these atrocities. Their stories are the ones we must listen to, only by learning from the past can we begin to create a better future.”

Rabbi Mordechai Wollenberg will join Cllr Kemp in lighting a memorial candle. This will be followed by prayers and songs led by King David High School Choir.

As part of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust created 70 commemorative candles which the holders of national events were invited to apply for.

Liverpool was awarded one of these candles and marked the 69 days in the lead up to Holocaust Memorial Day 2015 by lighting a small candle each day in memory of one of the six million Jews lost in the Holocaust.

Members of the community were invited to come into the town hall each day to light a candle in memory of a victim.

Current president of the Merseyside Jewish Representative Council, Professor Julian Verbov, JP, and his wife, former president, Hazel Verbov, whose father Army Chaplain, Reverend Leslie Hardman was present at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, will light the 70th candle as part of the service.

The service at the town hall is by invitation only and is not open to the public.

Story and Photo Source: Liverpool Echo