Survivors share their stories as Newham marks Holocaust Memorial Day

Survivors of genocide and the Holocaust shared their stories to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

Mala Tribich giving her speech at the Holocaust memorial service Picture: Andrew Baker - Credit: Andrew Baker

Around 300 residents and pupils gathered at Newham Town Hall on Friday for the council’s annual commemoration service.

This year’s guest speakers included Mala Tribich, who was just eight when the Nazis invaded her hometown in Poland, and as a child spent time in both the Ravensbruck and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps.

There were also speeches from Antoinette Mushimiyimana and Isameldin Agieb, who survived genocides in Rwanda and Darfur respectively, as well as readings from schoolchildren and performances from the Roma Bridging Sounds Orchestra and the Every Child a Musician orchestra and choir.

During the event, six candles were lit to remember the six million people who lost their lives during the Holocaust.

Mayor Sir Robin Wales said: “The dangers of division and hatred remain.

“We must continue to oppose the kind of racism, anti-Semitism, and intolerance that enabled these terrible crimes.