Holocaust Memorial Day in Brentwood

Brentwood marked Holocaust Memorial Day last week with a series of events.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday an exhibition was held at Brentwood Town Hall, and on Saturday a remembrance service was held at Brentwood County High School.

Organised jointly by the Shenfield, Brentwood and District Synagogue and the Essex Christian Friends of Israel, the display included information about a Christian woman who gave shelter to people hiding from the Nazis during World War Two.

Corrie Ten Boom hid people from the Nazis – including Jews and members of the Dutch resistance movement at her Haarlem home.

On Saturday, the exhibition was moved to Brentwood County High School, which also staged a talk by Holocaust survivor Leslie Kleinman.

Janice Feldman, administrator of Brentwood, Shenfield and Districts Synagogue, said: “I think it’s important to remember as it’s part of all of our history.

“It wasn’t just Jewish people who died, Jehovah’s Witnesses, gypsies and anyone who didn’t conform were targeted.”