Chesterfield people mark Holocaust Memorial Day

A group of residents, along with the Mayor of Chesterfield, gathered in New Square on Wednesday night to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day – in memory of the millions of innocent victims of genocide.

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The event, which was coordinated by Chesterfield Councillor Ed Fordham, saw a large number of candles being lit and readings and poems shared.

Coun Fordham said: “I believe it is really important that we never forget and that we learn the lessons of the Holocaust and past genocides.

“My grandfather served in World War Two and saw the camp of Bergen-Belsen.

“I myself have worked in the Balkans and been to Srebrenica where there was modern day genocide as recent as 1995.

“Each year I have lit candles on my own drive in the form of a triangle of lights but decided that this could be a more public commitment.

“Accordingly, working with fellow councillors, the Mayor, Derbyshire LGBT+ and Chesterfield’s Stand up to Racism, we gathered in New Square on Wednesday night and made the commitment to never forget.”

He added: “In the aftermath of the Holocaust of World War Two, gay men were kept imprisoned after camp liberations as being gay was still a crime under the penal code of most countries.

“Upon learning this I pledged for myself – NEVER AGAIN. NEVER FORGET."

Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on January 27 each year, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau – the largest Nazi extermination camp.

It remembers the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside millions of others killed under Nazi persecution and in genocide around the world.

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