Holocaust survivors, civic leaders from across the East Midlands and faith organisations will gather for a special event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on Tuesday, 27 January (10.30am – 12noon).

The event, to be held at the National Holocaust Centre in Laxton near Ollerton, will remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust under Nazi persecution and the victims of genocides in Armenia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

This year’s commemoration is particularly significant, as it marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp.

Councillor Pauline Allan, Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council and Councillor Alan Rhodes, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council will be amongst the guests on Holocaust Memorial Day.

Councillor Rhodes said: “Holocaust Memorial Day provides us with an opportunity to honour the survivors, keep the memory alive of these appalling events and challenge ourselves to use the lessons of their experiences to inform our lives today. No one should be victimised because of who they are or where they’re from.

“There’s a lot we can all do at a local level to apply the lessons learned. The County Council is embedding fairness and the celebration of difference through one of our core values of treating people fairly. We still have a long way to go, but we’ve made rapid progress and I was delighted that we were recently named in the top 100 employers in the UK for equality by Stonewall.”

In addition to the two main permanent exhibitions, the National Holocaust Centre is currently hosting a temporary exhibition, Germany’s Confrontation with the Holocaust – in a Global Context.

The temporary exhibition focuses on not the history of the Holocaust, but on the responses of post-War Germans to the crimes committed in their name.

Further information about the National Holocaust Centre is available from www,holocaustcentre.net , with information about Holocaust Memorial Day at www.hmd.org.uk