WE shall never forget. That is the message from Ipswich residents, determined to remember the lasting efforts of the Holocaust.

Events are being held to mark the build-up to Holocaust Memorial Day to ensure the genocide during the Second World War is not forgotten.

The event, which takes place annually on January 27, will this year mark the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

At University Campus Suffolk yesterday, in the run-up to the day, students from Northgate High School, Kesgrave, St Albans and Copleston gathered to hear the story of Frank Bright.

Mr Bright, 83, who now lives in Martlesham Heath, was born in Berlin and later moved to Prague.

However, due to Nazi occupation in the area, Mr Bright and his parents were transported to a ghetto where they lived for 15 months.

Frank saw his father for the last time on September 29 1944 after he was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. He and his mother were sent to the same camp two weeks later, and Frank, aged 16 at the time was made to watch as his mother was led away to the gas chambers.

Mr Bright was spared as he was seen by the Nazis to be fit for work. He spent a week in Auschwitz before being sent to work at a factory.

He said: “I was in Auschwitz for just a week, I was in a way lucky, I guess, because I had been promised to a manager of a company.

“It is so important for people not to forget. Six million people died, of whom 1.5million were children. One should never forget these events, the most horrific events.

“I’m pleased that the students want to learn more about this horrific time.”

It was also an opportunity to hear the story of Dora Love, another camp survivor, who died in October last year. Throughout her life, Dora, who lived in Essex after the war, wrote poetry about her experiences while dedicating her life to telling others about her wartime experiences. Students embraced history by getting involved in a series of workshops with the speakers which then saw them create a piece of audio which will be used in their schools to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

The youngsters also heard the story of one of the world’s most famous war correspondents and photographers, told by her son, Tony Penrose and granddaughter, Ami Bouhassane.

Lee Miller was on the front line with the American army. She saw the bombing of St Malo, she was in Paris during the liberation and she was at Dachau concentration camp when the allied troops first arrived.

Billeted in Hitler’s flat in Munich on the day he killed himself, she reported on her experiences for Vogue and took gripping photographs that remain timeless.

Mr Penrose said: “We are very pleased to be here and the students in Ipswich are a credit to the town.The fact that they want to learn about this is amazing.

“We have to learn and know about this because that is the only way we can stop it happening again.”

n How will you mark Holocaust Memorial Day? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk