Six unknown Holocaust victims laid to rest
Today, a week before Holocaust memorial day, six unknown victims of the Nazi holocaust were laid to rest before a congregation of a thousands people at a ceremony conducted by Britain's Chief Rabbi in Bushey, Hertfordshire.
"We must continue to challenge racism, anti-Semitism and bigotry and where hatred can lead."
The minister added that he hoped the funeral would bring people together and underline the message of
"never again, never forget and that none of us can simply stand by the side and allow this to happen".
The ceremony was also attended by survivors and relatives of victims who were murdered during the Holocaust, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Israeli ambassador and the deputy German ambassador.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said hate speech "can easily be translated into hate crime" and the service was a reminder to confront all forms of racism.
He warned:
"When anti-Semitism is allowed to thrive, some people can do anything and some people can reach the lowest end of human conduct."
In his address, Rabbi Mirvis addressed the six victims. He said:
"We don't know who you are, we don't know if you're male or female, we don't know which country you're from, but one thing we do know; you were a Jewish and brutally murdered."
"You were let down badly at the time and now your remains have somehow come to the UK. And we have the opportunity of granting you the dignity and honour of a funeral service."
Previously the Chief Rabbi had said that the symbolism of the funeral service is enormous.
"We find exceptional poignancy in the fact that there are six souls that we are burying," he said.
"Each one stands for one million souls who perished. And interestingly enough there were just under five million who were adults and just over one million who were children."
Rabbi Mirvis added: "There were members of my family who perished in the Holocaust and we all related to this directly. Now we will have the opportunity to accord them some dignity and to give them a final resting place."
He said he hoped the site would become a place of pilgrimage for Jewish families, much like the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. But he also reflected on the memorial's timeliness for wider society, adding:
"We need a strong reminder such as this to let us know what can result, even within a democratic society, what can result if anti-Semitism, if racism and xenophobia, go unchecked."
The identities of the individuals concerned are not known beyond that they are believed to have been Jewish and that they were five adults and one child who died at Auschwitz. Their mortal remains were given to the Imperial War Museum as part of a large anonymous donation of artifacts relating to the Holocaust. The unknown victims were buried with earth from Israel.
James Brokenshire, the communities secretary, who attended the ceremony, said
"We must continue to challenge racism, anti-Semitism and bigotry and where hatred can lead."
The minister added that he hoped the funeral would bring people together and underline the message of
"never again, never forget and that none of us can simply stand by the side and allow this to happen".
The ceremony was also attended by survivors and relatives of victims who were murdered during the Holocaust, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Israeli ambassador and the deputy German ambassador.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said hate speech "can easily be translated into hate crime" and the service was a reminder to confront all forms of racism.
He warned:
"When anti-Semitism is allowed to thrive, some people can do anything and some people can reach the lowest end of human conduct."
In his address, Rabbi Mirvis addressed the six victims. He said:
"We don't know who you are, we don't know if you're male or female, we don't know which country you're from, but one thing we do know; you were a Jewish and brutally murdered."
"You were let down badly at the time and now your remains have somehow come to the UK. And we have the opportunity of granting you the dignity and honour of a funeral service."
Previously the Chief Rabbi had said that the symbolism of the funeral service is enormous.
"We find exceptional poignancy in the fact that there are six souls that we are burying," he said.
"Each one stands for one million souls who perished. And interestingly enough there were just under five million who were adults and just over one million who were children."
Rabbi Mirvis added: "There were members of my family who perished in the Holocaust and we all related to this directly. Now we will have the opportunity to accord them some dignity and to give them a final resting place."
He said he hoped the site would become a place of pilgrimage for Jewish families, much like the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. But he also reflected on the memorial's timeliness for wider society, adding:
"We need a strong reminder such as this to let us know what can result, even within a democratic society, what can result if anti-Semitism, if racism and xenophobia, go unchecked."
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