THE LEADER of the council has highlighted the importance of remembering the lessons taught by the Holocaust, following yesterday's memorial service.

Cllr Prince, along with Mayor Chan, Lee Scott MP and other local dignitaries joined survivors of genocides throughout the twentieth century at the Holocaust Memorial Day service in Ilford yesterday (Wednesday 27).

Cllr Prince said: “The service remembered the lives of the millions who died in the Holocaust and other genocides and atrocities including those in Rwanda, Cambodia, Darfur and Bosnia.

“This year Holocaust Memorial Day marks the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Holocaust survivors and survivors of other genocides have played an immense role in bringing our attention to the lessons of the Holocaust.

“They have also passed a message of resilience and hope to the next generation.

“We must listen to the voices of the victims and the survivors of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution as well as those affected by more recent genocides and those who remain excluded today and commit to tell others what we hear and to make these hopes, experiences and voices part of our future.”

At the service, Holocaust survivor Issy Hahn spoke movingly about his experiences in a concentration camp.