Peterborough remembers suffering and sacrifice of millions killed in genocides on Holocaust Memorial Day

Peterborough came together to mark Holocaust Memorial Day - the day which remembers the six million Jews who were systematically murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War.

The ‘poignant’ event took place at St John the Baptist Church at noon today (January 26) to remember the suffering and sacrifice of the many millions of people who have been killed in genocides across the world, including the Holocaust.

Holocaust Memorial Day is generally commemorated across the world on January 27, as this is the day when Auschwitz-Birkenau – the largest Nazi death camp – was liberated in 1945.

However, Peterborough has, for a number of years now, held its own commemoration as a public and inter-faith act of remembrance.

The Deputy Mayor's attendant led a civic procession of dignitaries from the Town Hall to St John’s Church for the commemoration, stopping at the Guildhall on Cathedral Square to watch a brief performance by St John Fisher Catholic High School.

Deputy Mayor of Peterborough Nick Sandford gave an address before the commemoration:

"Holocaust Memorial Day is a significant and poignant event in the world's calendar,” he said. “The events taking place in Peterborough will give us all the chance to remember the victims of genocide.

"It's vitally important that we reflect on the atrocities of the past and share their stories with future generations. That is the best defence against history repeating itself."

Mayoress Dr Shabina Qayyum described the commemoration as an “incredibly poignant event.”

Speaking alongside the Deputy Lord Lieutenant and members of the Liberal Jewish Community, Cllr Qayyum emphasised the “magnitude and scale of loss” caused by Nazi atrocities. “Six million innocent Jews lost their lives,” she said: “It’s incredibly important we mark this event.”

The councillor also drew attention to the Holocaust memorial plaque outside St John’s Church which, alongside the Nazi atrocities of WWII, commemorates genocides carried out in Bosnia, India, Rwanda, Darfur and Cambodia. It is, Dr Qayyum urged, vital that people remember the “killing of people from all faiths and all backgrounds that have taken place in the world through the ages.”

The commemoration concluded with the laying of a wreath at the Holocaust memorial.