“WE MUST never forget” was the message at a multi-faith service in Haverfordwest on Sunday (January 27) marking 70 years since the liberation of the Nazi’s most notorious killing site Auschwitz-Birkenau.

More than 100 people joined together to remember the victims of the Holocaust, and call for acceptance and equality for people of all faiths, races and beliefs all over the world.

Eleven million people – including around six million Jews - were slaughtered by members of the Nazi regime and its collaborators during the Second World War.

One of more than 2,400 services held across the UK to mark this milestone, the event was also a memorial to the lives lost in the subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

Mayor of Haverfordwest, Cllr Roy Thomas, said the turn-out demonstrated Pembrokeshire’s ‘unity of spirit’, which he said was essential if good was to ever “triumph over evil”.

“It’s most important that we do not forget such catastrophes and that we strive to ensure that evil of the kind that was inflicted on so many innocent people will never be repeated,” he said.

He also thanked pupils from Tasker Milward and Sir Thomas Picton Schools, who lit candles in memory of those who died.

“They are our future, and their presence will hopefully persuade them to play a part in ensuring peace on our planet,” he said.

Secretary of State for Wales, Stephen Crabb MP, said it was vital not to “lose the imprint of what the holocaust represents from our consciousness”, adding there was still much to be done before equality was achieved.

He highlighted the concerns and fears of the Jewish community, heightened following recent terror attacks, and the fact that some Jewish schools are now under 24-hour protection.

“If we think we live in a society where there’s huge distance between those events and the society we live in we are kidding ourselves,” he said.

In a moving speech, Assembly Member Paul Davies said it was vital to remember the lessons learnt from such atrocities.

“We are fortunate to live in a country that is not at risk of genocide but that does not mean that discrimination has ended, nor has the language of hatred and exclusion,” he said.

He said everyone had a “responsibility to promote an equal society where no is judged or victimised because of their background or ethnicity”.

Event organiser Barbara Shone said she had been amazed by the response, and encouraged everyone to visit the Anne Frank exhibition when it comes to Pembrokeshire College for the first time on March 16.

“Education is the key,” she said.