Exhibition and Commemorative Event mark Holocaust Memorial Day

Ards and North Down Borough Council hosted its annual exhibition to mark Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January) at Bangor Carnegie Library last week. Organised by the Council's Good Relations team, the theme for this year was 'For a Better Future'. 

Local schools, individuals and community groups worked together to provide artwork for the exhibition including poetry and stories. They served as a reminder of the persecution and difficulties that people faced during the Holocaust and other genocides that followed.

The exhibition was followed by a commemorative event that was held at Bangor Castle on Wednesday (22 January), where second generation survivor, Charles Warmington, was the guest speaker while children from Millisle Primary School recited poems.

The Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Alistair Cathcart, said:

"This Holocaust Memorial Day marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex, as well as the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia. It is important to raise awareness of atrocities such as the Holocaust, learn from the mistakes of the past and work together to prevent those mistakes from being repeated."