Holocaust memorial event planned for island

Around 44 wreaths are expected to be laid at a Holocaust Memorial Day event in Jersey.

The commemoration on Tuesday will take place at New North Quay and 12 of the wreaths will be laid by family members of those who were persecuted by the Nazis during World War Two.

They include Dr Kevin White, whose wreath is in memory of his grandfather Frederick Page who died in Naumburg Prison in January 1945.

Dr White said his grandfather was a "man of huge courage and with a detestation of anti-semitism and Nazi evil".

Tuesday will commemorate the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp.

The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by the Germans during World War Two.

Dr White added: "I hope it will remind people that the events of the occupation are recent and still have an impact on families.

"Holocaust Memorial Day is an excellent opportunity for young people to learn about their past and my grandfather's story is particularly pertinent to pass down the generations as he was prepared to die for human rights when he fell foul of one of the vilest regimes in history."

Before the wreath-laying at the memorial at New North Quay guest speaker Helen Stone will share the story of her mother, Emmy Golding, who survived the holocaust by coming to England as a Jewish refugee from Germany in May 1939.

She is a founding member of Generation 2 Generation, which trains children and grandchildren of holocaust survivors to tell their family stories.

Students from Victoria College and Jersey College for Girls, will also lay a flower on each of the names on the Lighthouse Memorial.

Chris Addy, who helped organise the event, said the commemoration would begin at 13:00 GMT.

"It is especially moving to have the presence of family members, who help us to keep alive these important stories while also celebrating the lives of those who have followed," said Addy.

Jersey will also participate in the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust's Light the Darkness project which will see landmarks across the British Isles illuminated in purple.

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