A special ceremony to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day will be held by Bath & North East Somerset Council. Councillor Cherry Beath, Chair of B&NES Council, will host the event on Thursday, 25th January.

Holocaust Memorial Day has been marked in the UK since 2000. It commemorates the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by Allied forces on 27th January 1945, towards the end of WWII.

Councillor Beath said: “The council places great importance on marking Holocaust Memorial Day with an annual ceremony of remembrance. It is an opportunity for us to reflect on the genocide of the Holocaust and other human tragedies – the Vietnam War, the Bosnian War of the 1990s, and Rwanda – and to renew our commitment to human rights.

“For 2018, the theme is ‘The Power of Words’. Words can make a difference – our commemoration this year will focus on how words can be used to harm and denigrate, but also to heal and give a voice to those who would otherwise be kept silent.”

The free event starts at 5.30 p.m. at the Guildhall (Alkmaar Room), Bath. Those wishing to attend should contact the Chair’s Office on: 01225 394235 or by email at: [email protected]