Auschwitz victims laid to rest in UK synagogue ceremony
The remains of six Holocaust victims murdered at Auschwitz have been buried as the UKs chief rabbi urged an end to an increase in antisemitism.
About 50 Holocaust survivors joined hundreds of other members of the Jewish community at the United Synagogue New Cemetery in Bushey, Hertfordshire, for the funeral service.
During an address, Ephraim Mirvis warned antisemitism was on the rise and unchecked hate speech could easily be translated into hate crime.
The ashes and bones of the six unknown victims were sent from Auschwitz to the Imperial War Museum in London in 1997. Scientific tests later discovered they were the remains of five adults and one child, but nothing else is known about them.
The funeral service was the first for Holocaust victims to be held in the UK. After a 40-minute service, a small coffin, which held the remains of all six victims, was carried to its plot where it was buried with earth from Israel. The survivors and other mourners lined up to throw earth on to the coffin.
more...