Holocaust Memorial Day: Legacy of Hope

WIGAN and Leigh will unite in remembering the victims of the Holocaust and other genocides on Wednesday 27 January.

Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, in partnership with Wigan Council, has organised two Holocaust memorial ceremonies of commemoration at The Atrium, Wigan Town Hall 10.15am and at the Derby Room, Leigh Library at 1.30pm.

Nationally, Holocaust Memorial Day is commemorated every January and marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945.

This year’s theme is “The Legacy of Hope”. It is the tenth annual commemoration ceremony held in the borough.

Bill Hampson, director of Wigan based charity The Epiphany Trust, will be speaking about the suffering of the Burmese people at the hands of the military junta.

Personal testimonies from those who have suffered at the hands of others will also be read out by Rev Ray Hutchinson, Rector of Wigan and Father Kevin Crinks from Leigh Parish Church.

The Wigan service will include readings from schools including Shevington, the Deanery High and St Peter’s Catholic High School. Pupils from Hesketh Fletcher High, Westleigh, Lowton and St Mary’s Catholic will take part in special readings and drama productions at Leigh.

Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust’s Heritage Services Manager Carole Tyldesley said: “Holocaust Memorial Day acts as a reminder to all of us of our responsibility to protect the civil and human rights of all people in our society and across the world.

“On 27 January we will join with millions of others around the world to not only remember, but to make the lessons of the past relevant to us today, ensuring that the horrific crimes of the past are neither forgotten nor repeated.”

Everyone is welcome to attend the ceremonies.

For more information call Rosanne Patterson 01942 828 546.