Basingstoke to hold Holocaust Memorial Day service

The annual Holocaust Memorial Day service, led by the Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane, will mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex, and the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia.

The service will honour those who suffered and died, as well as those who have lost friends and loved ones to genocide.

The mayor, Cllr Dan Putty, will lead tributes at 10am on Monday, January 27, at the War Memorial by the Civic Offices.

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Cllr Putty, together with the leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Cllr Paul Harvey, will lay a wreath on behalf of the borough.

A bugler will mark a one-minute silence.

The theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is ‘For a Better Future’, which encourages people to learn about the Holocaust and more recent genocides for a better future.

Cllr Putty said: “In this 80th anniversary year of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia, it is especially important that we take a moment to pause and remember all victims of genocide and to give thought to the lessons that must be learned to ensure that we create a better future for us all.

“It is also an opportunity for us to show our support for those who have suffered the loss of family and friends in genocides throughout time and across the world.”

Holocaust Memorial Day has been commemorated worldwide since 2000 on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945.

To find out more about National Holocaust Day, visit hmd.org.uk.

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