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Victims of Holocaust remembered Victims of Holocaust remembered
(about 1 hour later)
Millions of people killed by the Nazis have been remembered at a national service. More than 100 Holocaust survivors have gathered for a national service marking the 62nd anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps.
Newcastle has hosted Holocaust Memorial Day at the city's Theatre Royal, to honour those who died in World War II and in other massacres. Survivors and their families joined a 1,200-strong audience at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.
Speakers from across Europe have taken part in the event. Victims of other atrocities, such as those in Cambodia, Bosnia and Rwanda, were also remembered.
Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly, Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathon Sacks and actor Henry Goodman were among those attending the service on Sunday. Speakers included Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks and minister Ruth Kelly.
Those killed in other massacres, such as in Rwanda, Cambodia and Bosnia, were also remembered. Six million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust. Between 1940 and 1945 about 1.5 million people died at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp.
Before the service a civic reception hosted by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Councillor Diane Packham, was being held at the city's civic centre.
Holocaust Memorial Day was established in 1999Holocaust Memorial Day was established in 1999
A drawing representing the Holocaust Memorial Day flame was being laid on the pavement outside the Theatre Royal by six artists from the Dodgy Clutch Theatre Company. Organisers said they hoped the commemoration would ensure the persecution of the Jews by Hitler's regime would never be forgotten.
John Shipley, leader of Newcastle City Council, said: "We have a proud history as a welcoming and inclusive city which takes a strong stand against prejudice. Appeals were also made to stop the deaths in Darfur.
"The event is an important occasion for us as we remember the millions of people killed during the Holocaust and in other atrocities around the world." The audience listened to speeches, music and personal testimonies about the atrocities.
Holocaust Memorial Day was established in 1999 to remember those who lost their lives - many in Hitler's gas chambers. Outside the theatre a collage made of coloured stones, coal and pulses, representing the Holocaust Memorial Day flame, was laid out on the pavement.
The anniversary marks the liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau. Ms Kelly, the Communities and Local Government Secretary, told the audience: "The Holocaust was an appalling atrocity, one of the darkest pages in European history, a crime unparalleled in scope and evil."
Other events have been held at venues around the country, including Leeds, Birmingham and London. She added: "The memory of the Holocaust should spur us all to stand up for the civilised values we share. It should spur us to fight against prejudice."
'Human challenge'
Sir Jonathan called on people to remember the other victims of the Holocaust, including gay people, gypsies, the mentally handicapped and the physically disabled.
He said: "The great human challenge is to honour what we have in common while respecting what makes us different because if we had nothing in common we would be unable to communicate, and if we had everything in common we would have nothing to say.
"If we do not learn the lessons of the past then I fear for our future."
As the commemoration event drew to a close, nine-year-old Tutu Manyena, from Zimbabwe, joined death camp survivor Chaim Nagelsztajn to light a memorial candle.
As a boy Mr Nagelsztajn was ordered to dig mass graves for neighbours and friends who had been gunned down. Members of his family were taken away and shot.
Another survivor who attended was Rohan Becher, 77, who was nine-years-old when the war started.
He said: "We are the only living testament of what really happened. The written word doesn't have the same force.
"Already there are deniers but they can't challenge me because I was there."