Holocaust survivors joined MPs, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and other Londoners at City Hall’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony.

The annual service, held today (Tuesday January 26), was organised to remember victims of the Holocaust and other acts of genocide and marked 71 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The theme for this year was Don’t Stand By and emphasised the need to stand up to persecution and honoured the individuals and communities who helped victims of Nazis and other genocides.

Rabbi Raphy Garson, of Elstree and Borehamwood who addressed the audience with a memorial prayer, said: “Evil is a reality that exists in our world, which if left unchecked, can destroy humanity.

“Mankind needs to be alert to the existence of evil in others and then understand it is up to us to uproot it.

“Today's event resonates with the importance of Zachor, a word in Hebrew which means the duty of remembrance itself.

“For as we remember the millions of victims of the Shoah and other genocides, we must reflect upon the fact that mass murder is not a matter of abstract statistics.

“For every person there is a name and identity, whose dreams and aspirations were destroyed.

“This abiding imperative teaches that we are each, wherever we are, the guarantors of each other’s destiny.

“The world can no longer remain indifferent, because doing so took us down the road to the unspeakable genocides in Rwanda, Darfur, Syria and sadly many others.

“Holocaust Memorial Day reminds us that when the moment comes we need to protest and speak out.

“The danger of silence and the consequences of indifference behoves us all to the responsibility to protect.”

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, gave a reading from Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel’s 1986 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.

He said: “Today we remember the millions of people who lost their lives in both the Holocaust and other appalling acts of genocide.

“Recent events here in London and in our sister city Paris, as well as other parts of the world, remind us of the importance of cherishing and defending freedom and tolerance.

“It is vital that we keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and learn from the atrocities of the past.”

The ceremony also featured London schoolchildren who presented their Lessons from Auschwitz project and there was music by Daniel Gouly and Josh Middleton from the Jewish Music Institute.

Jennette Arnold, chairman of the London Assembly, opened the event and said: "In October last year, I was honoured to travel to Auschwitz-Birkenau as a guest of the Holocaust Educational Trust.

"For many of us, our understanding of the Holocaust is largely focused on the millions that perished in the gas chambers.

"'How was this even possible?' is the question that continues to be asked. Sadly, the simple answer is because too many stayed silent.

"How appropriate then that the theme of Holocaust Memorial Day 2016 is Don't Stand By."

During the ceremony there were accounts from Holocaust survivor Hannah Lewis and Jean Baptiste Kayigamba, who survived the Rwandan Genocide.