Birmingham marks Holocaust memorial

By David Higgerson on Jan 26, 09 12:11 AM

BIRMINGHAM'S political and religious leaders were joined by campaigners at a moving ceremony remembering those who lost their lives in the Nazi Holocaust.

Birmingham Town Hall was packed as a succession of speakers told how the hatred shown by leaders of wartime Germany had echoes in todays attitudes towards minority groups.

During Sunday's service, Holocaust survivor Mindu Hornick recounted her horrific experiences at the hands of Hitlers henchmen, who oversaw the extermination of six million Jews.

She said: It took me over 40 years to be able to confront what had happened to me and my family.

Describing the era as perhaps the darkest times in European history, she recalled her time in Auschwitz and said there was no language that could adequately explain it.

Mrs Hornick added that it was only through sheer luck that she was not killed but was instead made to carry out slave labour.

She remembered the terrible smell at the concentration camp and the chimneys that were billowing smoke, as corpses were burned.

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By telling her story, she hoped that young people would begin to understand what could happen if they did not stand up to hatred.

Birminghams Young Poet Laureate Megan Bradbury earned great applause after reading her poem Steven, Were Listening. Her work was in response to another poet Steven Turner, who had said: History repeats itself. It has to - no-one listens.

Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Randal Brew lit a candle to recognise gypsies, disabled people, Jehovahs Witnesses, black people, homosexuals, Soviet prisoners of war and Polish leaders and intellectuals who had suffered through Nazi persecution.

Bishop Dr Joe Aldred, representing the Birmingham Faith Leaders Group, said Birmingham was a city where people of all faiths lived in peace, harmony and mutual respect.

Richard Dickson, supporter relations director of Christian humanitarian charity, recalled those who had died in more recent genocides in Darfur, Rwanda and Cambodia and hoped that the lesson learnt would be that peace was all-important.

He said: The path to peace is paved with a thousand acts of courage by ordinary people. Peace is something that has to be waged every day.