Holocaust Memorial Day service to take place at St Albans Cathedral

A Holocaust Memorial Day service is to be held at St Albans Cathedral and hosted by the City’s Mayor and Mayoress on Wednesday 27th January.

The Mayor, Councillor Salih Gaygusuz and wife Maureen, will be joined by religious leaders and people from across the community at the event on Wednesday 27 January.

Marking the day helps keep the memory alive of the millions killed in the Holocaust under Nazi persecution. It also recognises subsequent genocides that have taken place in the 20th century including in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. 

The theme this year is “Don’t Stand By” and it will be a time to honour survivors and reflect upon their lessons and experiences while promoting the prevention of future atrocities.

Four Holocaust Educational Trust Ambassadors from Sandringham School in St Albans will also join the commemoration. The sixth-form students participated in the Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz Project in March 2015, when they visited the Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau during a four-part educational programme.

The Ambassadors will share their thoughts on this experience and will recite some poetry relating to the theme of Don’t Stand By.

Participants in the commemoration include Rabbi Daniel Sturgess from the St Albans United Synagogue, Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth from the St Albans Masorti Synagogue and The Reverend Canon Richard Watson, Sub-Dean of the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban. 

They will lead prayers in Hebrew and English and light of six symbolic candles, one for each million of the six million Jews murdered. The candles also represent other victims of Nazi persecution and remember the people killed in subsequent atrocities. 

Cllr Gaygusuz, Mayor of St Albans City and District, said : “This is one of the most significant events I will attend during my year of office. It is very important that our community recognises Holocaust Memorial Day and all that it represents. I will be very interested to listen to the contribution from the sixth form students from Sandringham School who have taken part in an educational project to learn about the Holocaust."

"It is vital that knowledge of what happened is passed on from one generation to another so that it is never forgotten.”

If you wish to attend the Commemoration, please contact the Mayor’s office on 01727 819544 to submit your details to the attendance list and receive a formal invitation.

(Source: St Albans City and District Council)