Children help mark Holocaust tragedy

Holocaust Memorial Day will be marked in Kirklees on Tuesday January 29 with special events at Dewsbury Town Hall.

Pupils from schools across the area are preparing displays and performances that will take visitors on a powerful journey through the lives of those affected by the atrocities of World War II.

Organiser Kim Strickson said: “We have got a lot of young people involved so it’s trying to make links between their lives and the stories they have heard.”

The theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is Bridge After Bridge, which encourages people to connect with people from different backgrounds.

“Already there are groups and individuals doing that in Kirklees,” Mrs Strickson said. “We have to acknowledge that and we want more of it.

The day of events in Dewsbury will start with a service at the Garden of Remembrance in Longcauseway at 12.30pm.

From 1pm until 5pm, groups of up to 12 people can go on a 45 minute tour through Dewsbury Town Hall called Journeys.

People will be taken through a series of rooms that are linked to groups affected by genocide.

Pupils from Westborough and St John Fisher High Schools in Dewsbury are putting together an exhibition of plates that commemorate Jewish and Roma families.

Young Batley will use shadow theatre and drumming to articulate the wartime experiences of young men in Burundi.

The day will end with an event at Dewsbury Town Hall at 7.15pm where people can find out more about the project and light candles of remembrance.

Speakers will include the young people behind Journeys, the Mayor of Kirklees Coun David Ridgway and Lilian Black from the Holocaust Survivors Friendship Association.

Anyone wanting to attend the Journeys event should must book in advance. Call 01484 234046 or email [email protected].