The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Chair of the London Assembly, Andrew Boff AM, hosted Jewish community leaders and survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides at City Hall for a
commemorative service ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, which falls on Monday.
The annual service, organized in partnership with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and the Holocaust Educational Trust, honors the victims and survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides worldwide.
This year's theme, For a Better Future, holds particular significance as it marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentration and extermination camp, and the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide in the former Yugoslavia.
The ceremony featured powerful testimonies from Holocaust survivor Eva Clarke BEM, born in the Mauthausen concentration camp, and Smajo Bešo OBE, a survivor of the Bosnian genocide.
Speeches were delivered by the Mayor, the Chair of the London Assembly, Olivia Marks-Woldman OBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, and Clementine Smith, Director of Programmes at the Holocaust Educational Trust.
Ambassadors from the Holocaust Educational Trust shared insights from the Lessons from Auschwitz programme, which educates post-16 students about the Holocaust and its contemporary relevance. The programme highlights the history of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the lives affected, and the enduring lessons of the Holocaust.
Rabbi Epstein and Rebbetzin Ilana Epstein of the Western Marble Arch Synagogue recited the El Male Rachamim memorial prayer. The service opened and concluded with performances by the renowned Klezmer band She’Koyokh Duo, adding a poignant musical dimension to the event.
Holocaust Memorial Day serves as a reminder of the atrocities of the past while emphasizing the collective responsibility to build a future free from hatred and prejudice. Photo by Chabad Lubavitch, Wikimedia commons.