PEOPLE in Taunton are being invited to mark Holocaust Memorial Day at a service next Tuesday, January 27 . . . exactly 70 years since Auschwitz was liberated.

The service is taking place at the Church of St John the Evangelist in Park Street, and people of all faiths or none are welcome to attend.

It is just one of more than 2,400 events being held across the country to mark the liberation of the Nazis’ most notorious killing site.

The theme of this year’s Memorial Day is ‘Keep the Memory Alive’, and a spokesman for the Holocaust Memorial Day’s organising group said: “We want to make sure the memory of what happened, and its significance for our world today, does not pass with them.

“Holding this event every year has become a recognised feature in the calendar of the town and county.

“We think it’s important for us not only to remember what terrible things can happen when division and hatred are all-owed to prevail in our society, but also to say as a community that we’re against this and will take responsibility for doing everything possible to ensure that such things never happen here.

“This is what our commemoration is all about.”

The programme will include music as well as readings and a keynote address by journalist Marvin Rees, who has years of experience dealing with national and international equality issues.

He will talk about why remembering is so important and the significance of the Nazi persecution for us today, as well as what Somerset can do to ensure that the community is free of discrimination.

The service will finish with the lighting of candles by community representatives of groups who were victims of the Nazis.

Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: “It’s vital that we all remember and reflect on the horrors of the past and honour those who survived.”

The service takes place at 12.30pm and 1.30pm, and is free to attend.

For more details of how you can get involved on Holocaust Memorial Day, see hmd.org.uk