AN event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day is being held at the Lighthouse in Poole.

The Bournemouth and Poole Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) committee will be hosting the free-to-attend event on Sunday, January 28.

This year’s theme of Fragility of Freedom will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda and the 70th anniversary of the Roma Genocide, and the act of commemoration, which marks the start of the event, will remember those who have been stripped of their freedom.

Speaking on the theme, Lynda Ford-Horne, one of the organisers of Bournemouth and Poole Holocaust Memorial Day, said: “On top of the countless innocent lives lost through every genocide, we also see those who survive lose their freedom to live.

“The result of these genocides is children who have been raised to be so fearful of their actions, having to monitor everything they say and do, because their lives lay in the hands of others.

“This year’s event is particularly significant, as not only will we be remembering three very important days in history and also all those who are suffering conflict in the Middle East.”

Attendees of the event will also hear from guest speakers.

Every year, the number of survivors alive to tell their stories is dwindling.

So, this year, the Bournemouth and Poole HMD Committee is working alongside Generation 2 Generation, a Holocaust charity that enables family members to share their loved one's stories and eyewitness accounts.

The main talk taking place in this year’s programme will be dedicated to hearing the testimony of a Holocaust survivor as told by his daughter.

The official Holocaust Memorial Day is on January 27, marking the liberation of Auschwitz, and is an annual event to commemorate and remember the millions of lives lost during the Jewish Holocaust, alongside the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution, and the genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Roma, Sinti, and Darfur.

The memorial event is being held at the Lighthouse in Poole from 2pm to 4.30pm on Sunday, January 28.

It is completely free to enter, but tickets will need to be booked in advance via Eventbrite