De Montfort University hosts Holocaust Memorial Day event

It has been 79 years since the liberation of Auschwitz

An event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day is due to be held at Leicester's De Montfort University.

The city's lord mayor will be joined by other local dignitaries at the Hugh Aston Building on Saturday evening.

This year's event will also remember people killed in genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

Holocaust Memorial Day is held on 27 January as it marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945.

The day is an occasion to remember the millions of mostly Jewish people murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, as well as the victims of other genocides.

Approximately six million Jewish people from countries across Europe were killed during the Holocaust.

The Nazis also killed millions of other people during World War Two, including Roma and Sinti, LGBT people, and people with disabilities.

The university event will include a young people's panel with a question and answer session, live music and a talk on the theme "Fragility of Freedom".

Leicester's lord mayor Dr Susan Barton said: "Holocaust Memorial Day is a reminder of the millions of our fellow humans, including whole communities, who were murdered in past genocides and atrocities, simply for being who they were.

"We also recognise that millions of people today continue to live under the dark shadow of more recent atrocities across the world and the devastation, terror and tragedy of ongoing hatred and extreme violence.

"We have a responsibility to educate others about these horrific events and mean it when we say 'Never forget' and 'Never again'."

Update 6th February: This article has been updated to provide more details about The Holocaust.