Britain today pledged to contribute 50 million pounds towards a new Holocaust memorial and education centre here as people marked the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp in memory of millions of Jews murdered by the Nazis during World War II.
Senior politicians, dignitaries and religious leaders joined some of the few remaining survivors in central London for a service on Holocaust Memorial Day.
UK Chancellor George Osborne told MPs that the new memorial and education centre are among recommendations from the cross-party Holocaust Commission.
It was set up by British Prime Minister David Cameron to consider how awareness and remembrance of the Holocaust can be maintained as the final witnesses pass away.
"I made clear at that Cabinet meeting the Government will provide 50 million pounds to support this brilliant plan and of course we will go on funding the work of the Holocaust Educational Trust, which takes MPs and many, many school children to Auschwitz to see for themselves the horror that happened there," Osborne said in the House of Commons.
"I think across the House we can come together to commemorate this day but also to make sure it is never forgotten what happened in the Holocaust and we never repeat its mistakes," he said.
"As this is the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we should remember the inhumanity that happened there and the suffering of those who died and who live with the memories of the Holocaust, and vow as a nation to keep its memories alive."
All across the UK, more than 2,400 events have been planned from Shetland and the Outer Hebrides to Truro, Cornwall, and across Northern Ireland and Wales.
In central London, around 1,000 guests marked one of the most defining events of the 20th century and one of the candles will be lit at Auschwitz itself, where European leaders are expected to join survivors to honour the millions murdered during the Holocaust.
