Peterborough remembers Holocaust victims at moving service

The Dean of Peterborough, The Very Reverend Christopher Dalliston led the service at St John’s Church this morning as the city marked Holocaust Memorial Day.

The service started with a procession from the Town Hall to the church, with dignitaries stopping to watch a drama performance by pupils from St John Fisher Catholic High School.

Following the service, wreaths were laid at the Holocaust Memorial Stone in St John’s Square.

Councillor Stephen Lane, the Mayor of Peterborough, said: “Holocaust Memorial Day is a significant and poignant event in the world’s calendar, giving us all the chance to remember the victims of genocide and to learn from these events to ensure a better future.

“The theme of One Day is extremely poignant. Those who were targeted and persecuted held out for the One Day in the future when all their suffering would be over, hoping they would ‘all see the day of liberation’.

“It’s vitally important that we reflect on the atrocities of the past and share their stories with future generations.”

Residents who were unable to attend the service in person were able to watch the service on the council’s Youtube and Facebook pages.

Holocaust Memorial Day occurs every year on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. This date has come to represent other genocides which have been committed over the years, such as those in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.