 On 27th of January every year, it is Holocaust Memorial Day. It's a day for everyone to remember the millions of people who suffered as a result of the Holocaust. So, what was a Holocaust? The Holocaust refers to the persecution and systematic murder of 6 million Jewish people from countries across Europe. This unthinkable event happened during the Second World War. It was an attempt by Hitler and the Nazis to wipe out the Jewish population. The Jews were rounded up and putting concentration camps where they had to do hard manual labor under appalling conditions. The idea was to work these innocent people to death. But even this was not enough for the Nazis. Ultimately they decided to set up extermination camps with the sole purpose of killing the prisoners. Within a few hours of arrival at these camps the Jews were taken to the gas chambers to be killed. Nearly 7 out of every 10 Jews living in Europe at the time died. This was absolute genocide, the deliberate killing of a large group of people because of their religion. It started with hatred, discrimination, and racism. On Holocaust Memorial Day, we are reminded of what can happen when prejudice and persecution are left unchallenged. On January 27, 1945 the largest of the Nazi concentration camps, Auschwitz-Birkenau, was freed by the Allies. We remember all Holocaust victims on this day. Moreover, we remember also the victims of other genocides that have happened. For example, in places like Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur, it is a day to reflect on the futility of genocides and to remember the millions of people who have been killed or whose lives have been changed as a result of genocides. Holocaust Memorial Day is a day to remember how important it is not to spread messages of hate or to exclude people because of the color of their skin or because of the religious beliefs they may have.