Never forget

A range of events are planned in Bury to cross religious and ethnic divides to commemorate and highlight crimes against humanity.

It culminates in a Holocaust Remembrance Day, which will be held at Castlebrook High School, Unsworth, on Saturday, January 27, to coincide with similar events right across the country.

Symbolic candles will be lit as the inter-faith gathering covers a series of different themes from "A Survivor's Story" about genocide to prejudice and "The World Today".

The evening event, at 7pm, will include a memorial prayer, pledges for the future and a one-minute silence.

The week leading up to the day itself will see activities taking place at schools, colleges and youth centres. Councillor Derek Boden, council leader, said: "The idea is to bring together people of different faiths and ethnic origins to highlight something which we should all never forget.

"The Holocaust shook the foundations of modern civilisation and this occasion is not just to honour the survivors still with us, but also to reaffirm our shared goals of mutual understanding and justice.

"It is only right that we do everything we can to make sure that future generations understand the causes of the Holocaust and make sure that it never happens again.

"Sadly there are still repetitions of such human tragedies in the world, albeit not on the same horrific scale as that perpetrated by the Nazis.

"Learning the lessons of the Holocaust is as important now as it was more than 50 years ago and we should all be striving to promote a society which is free of the evils of prejudice and racism."

Coun Boden added: "We are proud to be part of this national occasion and we hope many local people will join us, if not at the Remembrance Day event itself, then by organising their own contribution.

"We want to focus on involving more young people and we want to emphasise the continuing relevance of universal themes like respect and dignity."