Holocaust survivors and religious leaders including the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams and Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks took part in a ceremony consisting of poems, music and speeches as well as personal stories from survivors in observance of Holocaust memorial day in Liverpool on Sunday.
Faith leaders called for the end of genocide throughout the world as they gathered in Liverpool to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks, signed a Pledge Against Genocide in the form of a large mural artwork.
The mural on the ground outside the city’s Philharmonic Hall was dedicated to encouraging individuals to add their support for an end to the systematic destruction of others in the 21st century.
More than 1,600 people, including survivors of the Holocaust, attended the emotional national commemoration service at the Philharmonic which featured personal testimony from survivors and relatives, poetry, music and speeches.
The event in the European Capital of Culture fell on the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
Among the speakers were Kay Fyne who came on the Kindertransport before the outbreak of the Second World War and now lives in Liverpool, and the Rev Leslie Hardman, who participated in the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration and led the first Jewish service there.
Read: The Press Association: Call for an end of genocide
Read: Christian Today: Archbishop of Canterbury joins Liverpool Holocaust memorial
Also read: inthenews.co.uk: Holocaust memorial day observed in Liverpool today