It was a full house last night with almost 60 people at Woolfson & Tay for Holocaust Memorial Day 2011 commemorations. This year's theme is 'Untold Stories.'A small part of the Surviving History exhibition is on display at the W&T Gallery (the bulk of it is at Biddenham International School & Sports College at Bedford), together with US artist and genealogist Susan Weinberg's beautiful canvases.

We were graced by the participation of Gena Turgel MBE, who shared with us her survivor testimony and reminded us that such horrors took place not so long ago. Southwark Councillor Mark Gettleson opened the night's proceedings. Spoken word poet Leah Thorn performed her powerful piece entitled 'I Place My Stones.' Author Mark S Smith spoke about his journey in uncovering the story of Treblinka survivor Hershl Sperling.  Susan Weinberg shared poignant tales of her time in Vilnius and the stories within her paintings and their inspiration. The night rounded off with a screening of the award-winning short film Surviving History. (If you missed it, you can view it on the History Channel )

Quite a few people shared with us their feedback after the evening's program. 'Powerful', 'poignant', 'wonderful' were some of the adjectives used to describe the session. To those who joined us, thank you for coming. Thank you for remembering with us and for honouring those who lived and those who were lost.

The exhibition continues until Feb 20. Next week, we will also add a video installation so that you can hear the survivor's words and perhaps watch the film too. For more info, visit here