A service is being held to commemorate victims of the Holocaust and other genocides.

Residents are welcome to attend the event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day at St Albans Masorti Synagogue on Thursday, January 27.

The service will be addressed by local rabbis and feature stories about Holocaust survivors with candles being lit in memory of those who perished.

Holocaust Memorial Day remembers the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945.

It is an occasion to recognise the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, the millions of other people killed by the Nazis and later genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and elsewhere.

Mayor Cllr Edgar Hill of St Albans said: “This year people are asked to focus on the one day when life changed for people or the one day in the future when they hoped their suffering would end.

“Holocaust Memorial Day is a time to reflect on these moments as well as the larger scale events to ensure that we will not allow what happened in the past to happen again.

“It is a way for our community to stand together and honour the millions of people who lost their lives. I am sure many residents will want to join us to show their opposition to prejudice and hatred.”

The service will include a short film about Kitty Hart-Moxon, 95, who was sent to Auschwitz aged 16 and survived.

After the war, Kitty – who lives locally - moved to England and has devoted her life to raising awareness of the Holocaust.

Because of security reasons attendees have to pre-book in advance by emailing the mayor's office: mayoralty@stalbans.gov.uk or calling 01727 819544.

For more information about Holocaust Memorial Day, please see: https://www.hmd.org.uk/.