Residents urged to '˜be kind' as Peterborough marks Holocaust Memorial Day

School children, councillors and dignitaries joined religious leaders and others at a service in St John’s Church in the city centre for Holocaust Memorial Day.

The event started with a procession which saw the Mayor of Peterborough cllr David Sanders and other guests walking from The Town Hall to Cathedral Square, where pupils from St John Fisher Catholic High School were performing a dramatic piece.

The guests then moved into St John’s Church, where readings and prayers were said.

The service was opened by Rev Canon Ian Black, and there were also readings from Omam Hafiz Akhtar Mehmood from the Faizan e Madina Mosque, Vivienne Fleet who represented the Peterborough Liberal Jewish Community and Assistant Chief Constable Nav Malik, from Cambridgeshire police.

There was also a reading from paramedic Chris Porsz, whose mum, Krystyna, survived the holocaust. A book of her stories has recently been published.
Chris said the message from his mum to the world would be ‘be kind.’

Children from a number of schools also performed poetry and music.

After the service finished, a wreath laying service took place at the Holocaust Memorial Stone in St John’s Square.

More: Krystyna’s Holocaust story is re-told