Wreaths laid to mark Holocaust Memorial Day

Commemorative events on Holocaust Memorial Day are "vital", Alderney's vicar has said.

The events on Monday marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau - the largest Nazi concentration camp in Poland.

Memorial events have taken place across the Channel Islands, including the laying of wreaths and a music performance in Guernsey.

The Reverend Samantha Martell said: "The only hope we have for a better future is to remember the past".

She added: "The fact that the Holocaust was here on Alderney as well and so many people still don't even know that we exist."

A wreath laying ceremony took place on Monday morning at the Hammond Memorial in Alderney, led by vice-president Steve Roberts.

In Guernsey, wreaths were laid at three memorials on the White Rock followed by a service at the Town Church.

A special piece of music was played by the Guernsey Music Centre String Quartet, with movement by performing arts students from the Guernsey Institute.

Phil Martin, President of the Channel Islands Occupation Society, said it was "very important" to mark the memorial day.

"There are still relatives of those that passed away during the occupation, for example, who come to these memorials because it brings them back to the time when they remember them," he said.

"We're 80-years now from the Liberation.

"We do have a few members who were also born in the occupation and remember it quite vividly.

"We've still got survivors from that time who are able to, and willing to, tell their stories."

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