Westminster Abbey marks Holocaust Memorial Day

The Abbey's nave was lit in purple in support of Light the Darkness – a national moment to remember the six million Jewish people and all those murdered in the Holocaust. Prayers were also said in the Abbey for peace, justice and hope around the world.

The liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau

Holocaust Memorial Day is marked on 27th January each year. This year, it falls on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex. 

More than a million Jewish men, women and children were murdered at the site from 1942 - 1945. The camp also claimed the lives of 75,000 Poles, 21,000 Sinti and Roma, and 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war. The death toll would have been even higher had it not been for the advance of the Soviet forces who eventually liberated the camp in January 1945.

A solemn remembrance

In 2015, Holocaust survivors Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and Zigi Shipper spoke at a special service in the Abbey to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. They recalled the horror of the camp, and spoke of their determination that those who did not survive should never be forgotten. 

Listen to their powerful words