Senior councillors and faith leaders from across the city visited the Auschwitz Memorial as people around the world prepare to honour Holocaust Memorial Day.
Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Abdul Salam Khan led a delegation to the Auschwitz memorial. The delegation included Cllr Pervez Akhtar, Deputy Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities, an Officer of the Council and members of the city’s Interfaith forum, which Councillor Abdul Salam Khan chairs, for the visit.
On behalf of the people of the city, they paid tribute to those killed in the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp and throughout the Holocaust, and saw the work of the former camp as a centre for education.
They learned about its ongoing work for peace and also visited the Jewish quarters and ghetto.
The trip was part of Coventry’s work as a City of Peace and Reconciliation and came just days before it hosts an event at the Belgrade Theatre to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
The annual event remembers those killed in the Holocaust and in other genocides such as Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Syria, and Darfur.
The horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau were revealed to the world on 27 January 1945, when soldiers of the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front opened the gates to find about 7,000 prisoners in the Main Camp, with hundreds more in sub camps.
Cllr Khan, who was on his first visit to the Memorial, said: “Every year we host Holocaust Memorial Day and we have been privileged to hear the stories of those we lost and those who survived the horrors, but to visit in person and stand at the spot where such atrocities took place was an incredibly powerful experience.
“As a City of Peace and Reconciliation, Coventry works with others around the world to make sure the stories of the past are not forgotten, and it was inspiring to see the work at the Memorial and how it is helping to lead the call for a world free of hatred and prejudice.
“It was an honour to represent Coventry as we remembered those we have lost, and to see leaders of different faiths from the city united in our work for peace.”
The Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Belgrade Theatre will take place on 27 January from 12pm – 3.20pm. Book your place to avoid disappointment.
The main speaker of the event is Jeanette Marx, from Generation 2 Generation, a Holocaust education charity. She will recall the story of her mother, who was transported from her home in Poland to concentration camps.
The event programme will also include a commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, as well as contributions from local poets, schoolchildren, speakers and dancers.