Southend Council hosts Holocaust Memorial Service
People gathered to remember the countless lives lost during the Second World War
Southend Council held a memorial event last night for Holocaust Memorial day which featured music, poetry and a performance by a local school.
It was held at the Civic Centre and focused on the hopes that everyone can come together to remember and learn in the hope that there may be 'one day' in the future with no genocide.
Those at the service also heard from Bernie Graham. His parents came to England as children on the Kindertransport in the 1930s, and spent their later life living in Westcliff on Sea, but many of his extended family were murdered in the Nazi Concentration camps at Auschwitz, Treblinka, Belzec, Sorbibor and Dachau.
Southend councillor Carole Mulroney, responsible for Environment, Culture, Tourism and Planning says it's so important to remember the events of the Second World War:
"It's incredibly important to remember these things. History repeats itself if you're not careful.
"The theme for this year is 'One Day'. That can mean different things to different people, but it means it's a day to remember. It's one day to to see a faded photograph of a relative and remember that person. It's one day to remember a family story that has been passed down through generations of how people have suffered over the over time.
"It's an incredibly important day, and it's also one day to remember that we should remember every day."
She encouraged people to share their stories with those around them:
"The spoken word is is very, very powerful... to hear somebody who is actually reflecting on, or remembering something they've been through packs a punch."
The councillor also said it's a real community event:
"This is not just a Second World War generation thing. There are people of all ages and all faiths and they come together to commemorate people that have been lost and that have suffered, and they look to a future which doesn't hold that sort of terror for people."