Holocaust Memorial Day
Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Mudd has joined representatives from communities and organisations across Gwent for a special ceremony at Newport Cathedral to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
The event led by school children from across the city and included readings, music and a candle lit procession through the cathedral.
As part of the commemorative day, Gwent Police’s headquarters in Cwmbran will be lit up in purple for the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s Light Up the Darkness campaign.
Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on January 27 and marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi’s biggest death camp. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation.
The annual day remembers the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, and the millions of others killed and persecuted by the Nazi regime. It also commemorates those killed in later genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur, and the Yazidi genocide.
Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Mudd said: “I was honoured to stand together with community representatives from across Gwent to commemorate the millions of people who were killed in the Holocaust and later genocides.
“As we take time to remember the millions who were killed, it is important that we also think about the world we want to live in today.
“I want our communities to be places where everyone can live their lives as themselves, free from fear and harm. Where everyone treats each other with the values of acceptance, tolerance, and respect.
“Together we can achieve this and, together, we can make a difference and build a better society for us all.”