A SERIES of events have been held to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

At Clifford's Tower last night there was a candlelit ceremony of remembrance of the massacre of the Jewish people in York at the Tower in 1190, with readings and readings and prayer, followed by a memorial event at the council's West Offices.

Earlier in the day there was a Jewish Heritage Trail walk starting in Museum Gardens and a seminar by Patrick Woodhouse, author of the bestseller Etty Hillesum: A Life Transformed at The Old Palace in Deans Park, exploring the life of a young Jewish woman, born in Holland in 1914 and murdered in Auschwitz in 1943.

Events to mark Holocaust Memorial Day will continue into the week.

Cllr Sonja Crisp, cabinet member for leisure, culture and tourism, said: “Each year, we mark January 27 as Holocaust Memorial Day and this year we will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the 20th anniversary of the Bosnian Genocide and the 21st anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide."

Highlights of the programme this week include an international exhibition focusing on Anne Frank at York Minster from Tuesday to Sunday and film screenings of Boy in the Striped Pyjamas at City Screen on Wednesday, and Free Men (Les Hommes Libres) at South Bank Community Cinema on Friday.

Students from Upstage Centre Youth Theatre in Monkgate will perform newly-discovered works authored by prisoners in the Theresienstadt Ghetto on Thursday.

On Tuesday, York Minster will be lit by 600 candles remembering those who died.

For further information about the programme visit www.yorkfestivals.com and www.hmd.org.uk