Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, today attended the Holocaust Memorial service hosted by the London Borough of Barnet which took place in Middlesex University's Ricketts Quadrangle in the Burroughs in Hendon.Speaking after the event, Theresa Villiers said "I have been attending Barnet's commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day for nearly ten years now and it never fails to move me and cause me to reflect afresh on the horrors of the horrific mass murder for which the Nazis were responsible."
"This year's theme for Holocaust Memorial day is journeys and this was referred to a number of times during the ceremony. We heard how brutal forced marches were part of the inhumane treatment inflicted as part of the Holocaust and other genocides."
"We heard from a range of speakers including Cllr David Longstaff, Barnet Cabinet Member for Safety and Community Engagement, and Richard Cornelius, Leader of the Council. Both spoke of the importance of Holocaust Memorial Day in Barnet where we value the diverse multi-ethnic nature of our borough and our record of having many cultures, faiths and communities living and working together harmoniously."
"Pupils from Mill Hill Country High School, Jack Donovan and Anisha Solanki, spoke of their experience on a recent trip to the site of Auschwitz concentration camp organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust. They also read out the Barnet Statement of Commitment which promises to remember the Holocaust and to do everything possible to prevent such an atrocity from occurring again."
"Lord Dubs of Battersea also gave a moving speech about his experience on the kindertransport. Although I have known Lord Dubs for some years, I had no idea that he had fled Prague as a child on the kindertransport. This was a scheme to provide a home in the UK for Jewish children fleeing Nazi persecution. Many of them never saw their parents again after leaving for Britain. Some lost their whole family to the Holocaust."
"I always find that the music at this event provides a very emotional backdrop to the speeches and readings. Two choirs regularly perform at Barnet's Holocaust Memorial ceremony, the London Cantorial Singers and the Alyth Youth Singers. They both sang brilliantly today. The songs performed by the London Cantorial Singers included "The Partisans' Song". This was written by Hirsh Glik who was sent to a concentration camp in Estonia from where he escaped to join local partisans. The song became an anthem for many partisans and was also sung in the death camps."
"I would like to thank Cllr David Longstaff and everyone at Barnet Council for organising this very special event. I would also like to thank and pay tribute to all those who took part in the ceremony."