RESIDENTS in Basildon are being encouraged to sign up to two events to mark Holocaust Memorial Day – marked each year on 27 January.

Holocaust Memorial Day is an opportunity to remember the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and the millions of people killed under Nazi persecution of other groups, and in the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.

This year, The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust will host a virtual ceremony from 7pm to 8pm Thursday, 27 January – reflecting on the importance of Holocaust Memorial Day and ending with the lighting of candles across the nation to remember those who were murdered for who they were.

More information on the virtual event can be found online here.

Ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, residents can also learn more about those affected by signing up to a live webcast hosted by the Holocaust Educational Trust. Primarily aimed at students, the webcast is open to all and will feature survivor stories and testimony from Eva Clarke BEM. This event will be held 10am to 11am Wednesday, 26 January.

More information on the webcast can be found here.

Cllr Terri Sargent, Chairman of Basildon's Communities and Wellbeing Committee, said: "More than 70 years on it is vital we mark this important day and remember the atrocities of the Holocaust and genocides around the world which have followed. These two events give residents an opportunity to learn more about an important part of our shared history from those that were there. Only by remembering and reflecting on the past can we make sure it doesn't happen again."