Six Holocaust victims laid to rest in Hertfordshire
The first ever burial of Holocaust victims in the UK took place on 20 January, a week before Holocaust Memorial Day.
The remains of the six unknown victims were finally laid to rest at Bushey New Cemetery in Hertfordshire.
More than 1,000 people attended the ceremony, which was organised by United Synagogue.
The remains, taken from the death camp at Auschwitz, have been held by the Imperial War Museum since 1997. They contain human bone fragments, which forensic testing suggests belonged to five adults and a child.
In his address at the funeral, the UK’s chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, spoke directly to the victims, saying: “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 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.”