BURY will come together to remember the millions who suffered and lost their lives in the Nazi Holocaust and subsequent genocides around the globe this week for Holocaust Memorial Day.

Held annually on January 27, Bury will mark the day with a memorial event at the Longfield Suite in Prestwich tomorrow.

The event, which is not open to the public, will hear the moving story of a Bury resident who survived the Holocaust, and the story of a survivor of the Rwandan genocide.

Children from the borough’s schools will also be taking part in the event, including Bury and Whitefield Jewish Primary School Choir.

Primary school pupils across Bury have also been taking lessons about the Holocaust in the lead-up to the event and have created hundreds of butterflies to remember the children lost in the tragedy.

On Holocaust Memorial Day itself Greater Manchester Police will welcome Holocaust survivors Ruth and Werner Lachs to their force headquarters in Northampton Road, Manchester.

The couple, who now live in Prestwich, will recount their experiences at an event organised by the Jewish Police Association.

Mrs Lachs is known to history as a “hidden child” of the Holocaust whose story of survival covers several countries, separation from loved ones and heroism from people of all faiths who helped to save her life.

Her husband Werner’s story follows his escape from Nazi Germany, later found to have been made possible thanks to a courageous MI6 agent ­— who was posthumously honoured by the Duke of Cambridge.

Today at The Fed in Prestwich a special “Torn From Home” event was held ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, in the Heathlands Village Memorial Hall.

During the afternoon the charity welcomed guest speakers, including around a dozen survivors, some of who shared their experiences with invited dignitaries, councillors, staff and volunteers.

The event was organised in association with the Council of Christians and Jews and the My Voice Project ­— a joint initiative set up to share Holocaust survivors stories and archive them at Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Israel.